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The Citizen reports that the death toll in the George building collapse tragedy in the Western Cape rose to 33 as of 3pm on Tuesday.
With Monday marking the eighth day since the collapse of the five-storey structure in the George CBD, there were fears that the death toll could rise further. The George Municipality said rescue workers and other role players had been on site for over 193 hours. “The primary focus continues to be on rescue efforts. With this in mind, we are also proactively setting up plans to expedite the identification of the deceased,” the municipality indicated. It also confirmed that 19 of the estimated 81 construction workers who were on site when the building collapsed last Monday were still unaccounted for. Twelve of the rescued workers are in hospital, while 62 have been rescued and recovered. The municipality said it was experiencing difficulties in obtaining accurate names of individuals missing or deceased due to the collapse. According to reports, most of the artisans working at the site at the time of the collapse were foreigners from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. “There is still an urgent call for professional psychosocial support practitioners proficient in Chewa, Portuguese, and Shona languages to assist survivors and their families,” the municipality indicated.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel & Nicholas Zaal at The Citizen
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