By AFP
10 May 2024 | 2:18 pm
The death toll from a building collapse in South Africa climbed Friday to 12 with 40 people still unaccounted for, four days after the structure came crashing down.
Officials are seen at the scene of a collapsed building in George on May 7, 2024. – The collapse of a multi-storey building under construction in the South African city of George has killed at least four people and trapped around 50 more, authorities said on May 7, 2024.In all, 24 people have been found and pulled from the rubble, four of whom have died, the coastal municipality said in an early morning update, adding that 51 others were still unaccounted for.A construction crew of 75 people was at the site at the time of the collapse on May 6, 2024, the city said in its statement. (Photo by Willie van Tonder / AFP)
The death toll from a building collapse in South Africa climbed Friday to 12 with 40 people still unaccounted for, four days after the structure came crashing down.
The tragedy struck Monday afternoon when an apartment block under construction crumbled while a crew of 81 were on site in the southern city of George.
Authorities said three more bodies had been pulled out of the rubble on Friday.
Twenty-eight people have been rescued alive.
With so many workers still missing, families and friends desperate for answers have been waiting at the city hall near the construction site, comforted by social workers and religious leaders.
Many of the survivors had burn and head injuries while some suffered internal injuries, according to the authorities.
Despite more than 90 hours passing since the building went down, Colin Deiner, head of rescue operations, said the work wouldn’t stop.
“We haven’t really drawn a line to say we are going into a recovery phase, we still have a few voids to search through,” he told a news conference.
“We know that time is against us”.
Provincial premier Alan Winde said the process to identify the workers had been “quite difficult”.
The police were using fingerprints, DNA testing, and photographs, he said.
Construction plans for a 42-unit apartment block had been approved by the city in July.
The reasons for the collapse are still unknown.
