China Mall in Durban Burns in Viral Video, Residents Slam Building’s Alleged Poor Safety Standards

• A fire burned through one-half of China Emporium in Springfield, Durban
• Residents woke up to the sight of smoke billowing in the air and police and firefighters were sent there to extinguish it and prevent looting
• Netizens living in the area were aware of the building's risks and believed that it was hazardous

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News's current affairs journalist, offered coverage of current affairs and societal issues during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

China Mall in Springfield, Durban, was gutted by a fire in the early hours of 22 November 2023. The flame went through the entire structure and caused massive damage. Residents of the area believe that the building was a safety hazard and the fire was bound to happen.

Read also

TikTok video shows child rescued from horrible living conditions, South Africans speechless

Fire tears through China Mall

According to TimesLIVE, the fire caused no fatalities and there were no injuries. Marshall Security's Andreas Mathios said residents flooded their call centre lines with alerts that smoke was coming from the area. When police, security companies and others first responded, they found that the building was on fire.

Shop owners were desperately trying to remove the stock and police officers were dispatched to prevent residents from the area from looting the shops.

Watch the video, posted by @Abramjee, here:

Netizens expected the fire to happen

Durban residents commented about the video and questioned the building's safety standards.

Stepfather of 2 said:

“I hope emergency exit points were not locked. I’ve seen a few China Malls where all emergency exit points were locked.”

Read also

Women driving BMW chase and catch robbers in viral video, SA praises their bravery

Meanor added:

“The building has never looked safe anyway. Probably the Chinese will take health and safety regulations more seriously this time.”

MUFC Reds added:

That building was a disaster waiting to happen. Building regulations were ignored entirely. I was expecting this to happen at some time."

Seja remarked:

“In China Mall, I doubt Occupational Health Safety exists in these overcrowded places.”

Menziwa pointed out:

“These Chinese buildings in Durban are all unsafe.”

Sheraaz Hassan wrote:

“That place was a safety hazard. Went there once a few years ago and never went back.”

Digital snitch was not amazed.

“Honestly, it was an accident waiting to happen.”

Johannesburg flames claim over 70 lives

Similarly, Briefly News reported that the Johannesburg flame that tore through the Johannesburg CBD claimed more than 70 lives.

The fire broke tough in August, and firefighters rushed to extinguish the flames. They did not arrive fast enough as many people died and were left homeless. South Africans were heartbroken and lamented that the CBD was turning into a horrific and risky place to live.

Source: Briefly News