Two people have been injured after a pedestrian bridge they were walking on collapsed in Jeppestown, Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The incident joins a long list of recent structural disasters in Johannesburg's inner city, including several fires and an underground gas explosion below Bree Street.
The bridge collapsed onto the train tracks along John Page Drive, between Hanau Street and Browning Street.
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) and other law enforcement agencies are on the scene.
In a short statement released by the Johannesburg North Joint Operations Committee, the authorities urged the public to please keep the area clear for emergency services until further notice.
The statement also urged residents around the inner city and Jeppestown to use alternative routes.
Lillian Mofokeng, Metrorail Gauteng communications officer, confirmed the incident.
She said Metrorail temporarily suspended trains operating between Johannesburg and Germiston this afternoon after the collapse of the pedestrian overhead bridge between Jeppe and George Goch stations.
"The overhead footbridge collapsed onto the railway train tracks, damaging the overhead traction equipment," she said.
She said emergency services attended to the two injured pedestrians, a man and a woman aged between 21 and 25 who were on the bridge at the time of its collapse.
Nana Radebe, spokesperson for the EMS, said both patients were transported to medical facilities for medical attention.
Mofokeng said the injured pedestrians had been taken to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital.
Mofokeng said Metrorail and a Johannesburg Roads Agency technical team and management are at the scene to assess the extent of damage and work on service recovery plans.
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"Metrorail management wishes the injured a speedy recovery and apologises to commuters for the inconvenience this may cause to their travelling arrangements.
"Commuters travelling on the Johannesburg and Germiston lines are advised to seek alternative transport until further notice."
She said more information will be posted on all Metrorail Gauteng platforms including Commuter WhatsApp groups, Twitter, and Facebook pages.
This is the latest sign of deterioration in Johannesburg's troubled inner city.
In recent weeks, the city's decaying infrastructure has shown cracks, with a series of disasters that started with a gas explosion along Bree Street.
The explosion claimed the life of one Malawian national who was killed in the blast. The cause of the blast remains unknown after Egoli Gas denied responsibility.
Last month a three-storey hijacked government building caught fire and claimed the lives of 77 people in Marshalltown.
Several other fire incidents have been reported in the city forcing the city's emergency services to place five fire stations on standby to monitor disasters in the CBD.
