SA: George Building Collapse Death Toll Rises To 33
The death toll in the George building collapse has risen to 33, with 19 people still unaccounted for.
The incident took place at 75 Victoria Street, George, Western Cape, South Africa where a partially-built building collapsed on 06 May, 2024.
According to the George municipality, 81 individuals are estimated to have been on site when the building collapsed.
In an update on Wednesday, the municipality said 62 people had been recovered of which 33 (27 males, 6 females) are deceased.
Currently, 12 people are hospitalised, 19 are unaccounted for, and 47 victims have been linked to their families.
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The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) had been investigating the consulting engineer overseeing the construction, Atholl Mitchell, for alleged breaches of conduct before the collapse.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is investigating to determine if there were any human rights violations.
Emergency workers continue to search for survivors and provide support to the affected families.
George Municipality said that the donations of fresh food received for the affected families who remain in the George Civic Centre are adequate.
It added that donations may be redirected to AFM (AGS) Soteria Church at 27 Victoria Street in George for those still willing to contribute.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape Department of Social Development has indicated that a comprehensive range of services will continue to be made available to the affected families for a minimum of 6 months.
The municipality revealed that 11 of the 18 people identified among the dead were foreigners, with 3 of them being Zimbabweans.
Many of those on-site at the time of the collapse were from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
7 of the 18 identified are South African, with 5 coming from Malawi 2 coming from Mozambique, 3 from Zimbabwe, and 1 from Lesotho. The municipality said:
The identification of descendants is the responsibility of the South African Police Service (SAPS). The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness FSP [Forensic Pathology Service] manages the visual identification in support of the SAPS.
After an incident such as this, visual identification can understandably be difficult and traumatic for family members and requires SAPS to undertake identification through scientific means, of which DNA testing is one method.
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