RUSA officer's father among five killed in Redcliffe building collapse
FIVE KILLED
Jayseelan Perumal, father of a RUSA Operations Manager, was among the victims killed in the building collapse
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THE death toll in the Redcliffe building collapse has risen to five, with authorities confirming Jayseelan Perumal, father of a RUSA Operations Manager, among the victims.
Emergency teams continued rescue operations at the site of the New Ahobilam Temple of Protection tragedy this morning.
Others killed in the tragedy included Vic Panday, founder of the New Ahobilam Temple of Protection, senior devotee Vasudev Prabhu, and Kishore Haribhujan, a local farmer.
The fifth body is believed to be that of a 42-year-old construction worker.
According to Prem Balram of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), Perumal was the father of RUSA’s Operations Manager and paramedic, Devan Perumal, who, despite the devastating personal loss, remained on duty as emergency teams responded to the disaster.
In an unrelated incident, a 64-year-old devotee succumbed to a heart attack, while visiting the temple site where a four-storey building under construction had collapsed on Friday.
In a statement on social media, Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) posted that the man's death was unrelated to the collapse of the building structure. "Resuscitation efforts were immediately initiated by paramedics from the provincial ambulance service, Rusa, medical personnel from the Gift of the Givers, metro police, and other private medical services. Despite extensive efforts, the male could not be revived and was pronounced deceased on scene," posted Rusa.