It has been confirmed that two people have lost their lives in the building collapse in George in the Western Cape.
About 70 workers were on site when the multi-storey building, near the corner of Victoria and York Street, crashed down after two o’clock this afternoon.
Humanitarian aid organization Gift of the Givers is assisting in the rescue operation of workers.
Twenty-two workers have so far been recovered and taken to hospital. Gift of the Givers’ Southern Cape coordinator, Mario Ferreira, says they will be assisting with sniffer dogs to find the trapped workers.
“We started off by providing energy drinks for the rescue workers and gloves for the people who helped with the rubble. Obviously the most important thing at the moment is to get the people out there. “We’re coming with sniffer dogs, we have three on their way as well as their handlers that will be here for the next couple of days to attend to the rescue.”
Meanwhile, Head of Western Cape Disaster Management, Colin Deiner, says additional emergency personnel and equipment are on their way from Cape Town and Worcester.
“The City of Cape Town as well as the Western Cape EMS have dispatched rescue trucks that have cranes on them that can lift up to around 20 tons to assist with the rescue operation. There’s also a specialized rescue unit moving from Breede Valley and approximately 50 rescuers who are trained in structural collapse rescue responding together with the SAPS K9 rescue unit.”
