Part of the roof structure at Somerset Mall collapsed on Thursday morning, injuring two people.

The mall, which is situated outside Cape Town between Somerset West and Strand, is currently being evacuated.

“At about 9:20 the City’s Fire & Rescue Service received an emergency call of a roof collapse at Somerset West Mall, near to Entrance 1,” said City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse.

“Fire crews were quickly on scene and found a section of the ceiling, from Wimpy to Edgar’s, collapsed. One adult male and female sustained injuries and were treated on scene. The area was cordoned off.”

Somerset Mall spokesperson Wiedaad Adams said that the incident is being investigated .

“Somerset Mall confirms that a part of the ceiling bulkhead collapsed on Thursday morning, 6 February 2020. There is no structural damage to any section of the centre’s roof.”

“The relevant consultants and professional team were called immediately and this area has been cordoned off and cleaning has commenced.”

“Determining the cause of this incident is our number one priority. Engineers and our professional ceiling consultants are busy with urgent investigations to determine the cause of this partial ceiling collapse.”

He said that the incident in 2018 was investigated and the issues were amended.

“A similar incident occurred on 5 August 2018 after which a full audit and due diligence was conducted of the affected area including the surrounding mall ceiling and bulkhead structures. As advised by our consultants, remedial action was taken at the time with no further concerns being identified.”

“Urgent investigations are underway as to why this has reoccurred. We would like to assure our customers that the safety and security of all shoppers and tenants is of paramount importance.”

Watch: What we know about the Somerset Mall roof collapse

The structure came tumbling down near the mall’s Wimpy outlet, almost certainly spoiling early-risers’ breakfast.

Around 50m worth of roof collapsed onto the mall’s lower level near Entrance 1.

The same section of the roof collapsed in August 2018.

One person was hurt on that occasion when debris fell from above.

This is a developing story – more details to follow