At least 1 killed, 26 critically injured in S. Africa mall collapse

At least one person killed and 26 others critically injured Tuesday after the roof of an under-construction shopping mall collapsed near South Africa's port city of Durban, police said.

"It is a shopping mall under construction near the port city of Durban in the southeastern province of KuaZulu-Natal. We have an unconfirmed number of 50 people trapped inside," police said.

Of the people feared trapped in the rubble of Tongaat mall, 10 were moved out and rushed to hospital, according to Netcare 911, a local emergency service.

The roof of the shopping mall collapsed when construction was underway, trapping workmen at the site, witnesses said.

All the injured appeared to be construction workers, according to Netcare 911's Chris Botha. "We have got units on scene already. We believe the whole roof has collapsed," he said.

Meanwhile, a Twitter account of another emergency service ER24 said there are "many casualties." The cause of the accident was not immediately known.