Devendra Kumar
Hope was fading on Friday for dozens of construction workers buried for days in the rubble of a building that collapsed in South Africa. The death toll rose to 12 after a worker who was in a critical condition died in the hospital, authorities announced. At least 41 workers are still missing, and fears are growing that the final death toll could exceed 50. Of the 28 workers rescued from the site, 21 were in critical condition or had life-threatening injuries following Monday’s collapse of the five-story apartment complex that was under construction.
Rescue workers are now faced with the daunting task of moving thousands of tons of concrete and rubble with heavy machinery to see if there are any more survivors. Large earth-moving equipment has arrived at the site, and rescue teams are removing huge slabs of concrete and rubble to reach deeper into the wreckage. Despite the introduction of heavy machinery, rescue techniques will still be applied meticulously and sensitively by the highly skilled and experienced disaster management team.
The city authorities have revised the number of missing from 38 to 44 after determining that there were more construction workers at the site than previously thought. New information provided by the construction company showed that there were 81 workers on the site when the building came crashing down, not 75 as authorities had initially announced. The city has deployed over 600 personnel to the rescue operation, with many brought in from nearby towns and cities.
George, the site of the collapse, is a small city known as a holiday and golfing destination, located about 400km east of Cape Town. Authorities have announced that multiple investigations are under way into the cause of the collapse, including by police, the provincial government, and the national department of labour. The investigation is ongoing, and it is unclear what caused the building to collapse, but it is clear that the road to recovery for the families of the victims will be a long and difficult one.