The death toll in the South African George building collapse has now risen to 24. This update follows the retrieval of three bodies from the building site this morning, as revealed by sources.
Rescue procedure are underway , a week after the collapse of the building at 75 Victoria Street where a three a storey building, which was still under construction, collapsed. Rescue workers and other role players have been on site for 163 hours.
In the statement, the municipality said that as much as their primary focus continues to be on rescue efforts, they are also working on identifying the deceased which they say have been met with difficulties. “We are experiencing difficulties in obtaining accurate names of individuals missing or deceased due to the building collapse.
We urgently request families who have lost contact with their loved ones to come to the George Civic Centre on York Street. This will enable the Department of Social Development to collect detailed and precise information, ensuring that all records are accurately documented,” the statement read.
On Sunday, Police Minister Bheki Cele and Police Commissioner General Fanie MAsemola visited the site and said the police cannot bid what might have happened at the building site.”As law enforcement, we cannot preempt what might have happened. That would be wrong. Our main focus now is to get people out of the rubble. I can confirm that from the SAPS side, investigations have started,” Cele said.
Cele and Masemola also engaged with some of the families of the victims where they met at a local community hall. He said that he was shocked that the contractor has not visited the site or the families of the workers. “It is inhumane that the contractor had not visited the families to at least sympathise with them. I’ve got a feeling there is not much cooperation in the matter. For now, everybody should be working together,” he said.
Source Zimoja
