Five people have been confirmed injured in the roof collapse at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.
A portion of the roof of the hospital collapsed on Thursday afternoon.
According to Bhekisisa, the Mail & Guardian health journalism unit, Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramakgopa said two contractors, two patients and one staff member were injured. Emergency services, including sniffer dogs, were sifting through the rubble to search for more people.
The rest hospital is safe, she said.
She said that social workers were contacting the families of those who were injured.
The injuries are reportedly mainly soft tissue injuries.
Some witnesses narrowly missed being trapped in the rubble:
The Gauteng Department of Health confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday.
It said that the collapse happened in the passage near the maternity department.
The cause of the collapse is still unknown.
A video of the collapse was posted on Twitter:
Reports that the hospital had structural problems reportedly surfaced earlier last year, when the DA's Jack Bloom noted broken ceiling panels, amongst other problems, during an inspection.