Cape Town - The tally of retrieved patients pulled from the debris of the collapsed building in George has risen to 36. This was as of 5:33am, on Wednesday morning, after a multi-disciplinary rescue team of more than 200 emergency services continued working throughout the night.
Seven people have died and 39 remain unaccounted for at present after the building, in Victoria Street, collapsed on top of 75 construction workers just after 2pm on Monday.
As the 33rd person was pulled from the debris of the collapsed building in George last night, there was rapturous applause, high-fives, and hugs from rescue workers.
At the scene on Tuesday night there was a feeling of pride among emergency personnel as they retrieved another man’s body from underneath the rubble, more than 24 hours after the tragedy.
About 200 emergency personnel from the City of Cape Town, Worcester, Breede Valley and volunteers assisted in finding the trapped workers.
Teams of three are working in rotation around the clock to save the lives of workers trapped in the rubble.
The building consisted of underground parking, and four floors. The floors were not yet completed.
Dozens of workers have been retrieved alive from the debris over the past two days.
Last night, rescuers confirmed with loud cheers that another worker had been found alive.
They went from grinding to digging to removing all the large rocks from the demarcated area.
Rescue services identified three areas where people have been trapped, while using sniffer dogs for scent and sound to locate the victims.
Emergency workers tried their best as they manoeuvred the man from the tight space, while quickly covering him up to protect his identity.
This was greeted with loud cheers from not only the crowd, but also from the men and women who had risked all to ensure that every worker would be found.
The building, which comprised underground parking, a first, second and third floor caved in along with the 75 construction workers that were on site.
Emergency personnel seen pulling out another person on the scene in George.
📸: Byron Lukas
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In a statement, the contractor, Liatel, expressed its sadness at the tragedy.
“Our hearts go out to all those impacted by this tragedy, and we extend our sincerest sympathy to the victims and their families.
“At this time, our main priority is to assist the ongoing rescue efforts in any way possible. We are coordinating closely with emergency responders and authorities to provide support and resources for the rescue operations,” the statement said.
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said in terms of its processes, the department would wait for the official handing over of the site so that it could proceed with investigations as per Section 31 & 32 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
The handing over is normally preceded by the finalisation of rescue and recovery interventions.
“The Department of Employment and Labour Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) inspectors are on site, as they were dispatched (on Monday) when the incident came to the department’s attention. The department is receiving real-time information on the ground from our inspectors and the inspector-general.
“We are also aware that multiple Disaster Service personnel, including SAPS Search and Rescue teams with sniffer dogs are involved in a rescue operation to retrieve the trapped construction workers.
“A number of construction crew workers on site at the time of the incident, and deceased workers, have been reported, but at this stage we await final confirmations,” Nxesi said.
