Tragedy strikes as Doornkop house collapses, leaving family homeless and bereaved

“We have nothing. It’s painful. I lost my mother, my sister, and my niece." These were the words of 25-year-old Zintle Xaba, whose life was shattered by her home collapsing in the early hours of Sunday morning.

''Right now, my siblings don’t even have a place to sleep, and we don't have funeral cover,” she said as she battled to contain her emotions. She often paused to cry while relating her ordeal to The Star.

Three people were killed after a double-storey building collapsed in the Doornkop informal settlement in Soweto. Among the victims were a one-year-old baby girl, a 60-year-old woman, and a 24-year-old woman, all members of the same family.

Xaba, who lives in Protea Glen, said she was not at home when the structure collapsed but was alerted by neighbours who heard a loud bang moments before the building came crashing down, trapping several family members beneath the rubble.

Six people were inside the house at the time of the collapse, according to Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (JEMS). When emergency crews arrived, three people were found trapped and later rescued during an overnight operation that began shortly after 3am.

All survivors were transported to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital for medical treatment. Two adult women and a child were admitted, with three patients remaining in the hospital. Their conditions have not yet been disclosed.

Xaba revealed that as many as 13 people permanently lived in the house. Three other relatives, who were visiting for the holidays, were away at the time, a twist of fate that spared them from the tragedy.

Speaking through tears, Xaba described her late mother and sister as selfless and caring, always willing to help neighbours despite the family’s own struggles.

“We had nothing ourselves. We were all unemployed and survived on social grants, but my mother still helped others whenever she could,” she said.

Xaba explained that the family moved into the house in 2021 after finding it abandoned.

“We didn’t build it. We found it empty and occupied it because we had nowhere else to go. Over the years, no one ever came to claim it,” she said, adding that the structure appeared stable before it collapsed.

Now left grieving and homeless, Xaba said the family has no funeral cover, no shelter, and no certainty about the future.

“We don’t have anything, not even a place to sleep. We are asking for any help. I’m not okay. I’m not coping,” she said.

She pleaded with community members and government officials to assist wherever possible, saying the family has nothing left. She also appealed for counselling, admitting that she is struggling to cope with the trauma.

City authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the Doornkop collapse.

In a worrying development, another house partially collapsed in Eldorado Park in the early hours of Sunday, though no injuries were reported.

According to IOL, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has ordered an investigation into the cause of the Doornkop collapse.

Macpherson stated that he had requested that the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) conduct a thorough investigation into the events surrounding the collapse. The investigation will seek to determine the cause, identify any responsible parties, and recommend preventative measures to avoid similar incidents in the the future.

“This is a deeply distressing incident. My thoughts and condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and with all those who were injured as a result of this tragic collapse,” Macpherson said.

Sources close to the scene said residents heard a loud “boooof” sound at around 2am. On inspection, they discovered that the side wall of their two-room house had collapsed, rendering the home uninhabitable.

An emotional resident, who has lived in the house for more than 30 years, said the structure had shown signs of deterioration for the past four years, with visible cracks along the wall.

“We have lived here since before the end of apartheid. We knew the wall had cracks, but we never expected to wake up to this as a Christmas gift in 2025,” the resident said.

No injuries were reported in the Eldorado Park incident.

The Star

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