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Picture Courtesy: (IOL/ Robin-Lee Francke) Rescue team on site, rescuing trapped workers.
(The Post News) – Seven people have been confirmed dead after a multi-story apartment building located at corner York and Victoria streets in George, Western Cape, collapsed on Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. According to the municipal spokesperson for George, Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe, a construction crew of about 70 people was on site when the building collapsed, and about 80 rescue personnel immediately rushed to the scene to help rescue the construction workers that were trapped.
More emergency personnel were said to be making their way to the scene of the incident, and 22 workers were said to have been rescued on Monday evening, while the police confirmed that two people had died.On Tuesday morning, the Municipality of George confirmed that the death toll had risen to five. “It’s been confirmed that the death toll is now at five. 24 have been rescued, and we are still searching for the other 50,” said the mayor of George, Leon van Wyk, in an interview with the SABC.
He added that the rescue team continued the search overnight, and the voices of those trapped could be heard, and the rescue team was able to make cell phone contact with some of the construction workers that were trapped. A media briefing was held on Tuesday afternoon to update the media on the developments at the scene, and it was confirmed that the company developing the apartment building was a private company called Neo Trend Group-Ice Projects.
The Neo Trend Group submitted building plans in December 2022, which were approved in July 2023.The premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, confirmed to the media that 28 people had been rescued, and out of the 28, six were pronounced dead. According to Winde, independent structural engineers that had been appointed by the provincial government were present on the site to investigate the cause of the collapse, together with the department of labor and employment as well as Western Cape Disaster Management.
The Minister on Employment and Labour, Thulani Nxesi, conveyed his condolences to families who lost their loved ones and said at the moment, his department needs to follow protocol by observing the site and waiting for the case to be handed over to them; only then can they begin with the investigation.On Tuesday evening, it was confirmed that the death toll had risen to seven; 33 people had been rescued, and out of the 33, seven had died. On Wednesday morning, 36 people had been rescued, while the search for 39 people continued.
The Western Cape minister of local government, Antol Bredell, said that the K9 unit was key in rescuing people, and it was unfortunate that out of the 36 rescued, seven had died and 39 were still not found. He said that the dogs were able to detect life, and they will continue walking them around the site in hopes of rescuing more people.
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