The Department of Labour has launched an investigation following the recent collapse of granite slabs at KatzStone Granite and Quartz in Verulam, north of Durban.

The incident left at least one worker dead and three others injured, including the owner of the company.

Details of the full incident are still scant and remain subject to investigations.

However, a preliminary investigation suggests that around 15:30pm on Friday, the three employees and the owner of the company had been removing granite slabs inside the container.

It is alleged that while they were removing the last batch, one piece of the granite fell, triggering the rest to tumble down and striking the workers, including the owner of the company.

One of the workers was trapped underneath the granite and due to the weight pressure, died.

Emergency response teams arrived and managed to break the granite in order to reach the man. The other three workers, including the owner of the company, were injured and admitted to hospital.

The preliminary investigation by the department’s labour inspectors has found that the deceased was not trained, a risk assessment was not conducted, precautionary measures were not determined and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was not issued to the workers.

The incident is being investigated in terms of Section 31 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993 and to establish the cause of the incident.

If the employer is found to be negligent and flouted any aspect of the law, a recommendation to prosecute will be made to the Director of Public Prosecutions