Brian McDonald
George, South Africa — The number of people missing under the rubble of a Five-story apartment building collapsed in South Africa was higher Thursday morning than it has been since the Monday afternoon disaster, as authorities said there were six more workers at the construction site than initially believed. Local leaders in the town of George on South Africa’s south coast said they believed there were 81 workers on site when the building collapsed in a pile of broken concrete and twisted metal.
As of Thursday, 29 people had been rescued from the site and eight confirmed dead. Three days after the collapse, hope that the 44 workers still missing could be found alive was quickly fading.
Six of those who were pulled alive from the rubble were hospitalized with serious injuries and another 16 were in critical condition.
Esa Alexander/REUTERS
Rescue work was halted briefly on Wednesday as crews tried to find the source of a “sound or knock” coming from beneath broken concrete slabs, George Mayor Leon Van Wyk said. But he acknowledged that time was running out, saying the chances of surviving such an accident diminished dramatically after 72 hours.
Operations would enter the “body recovery” phase the following day, “as opposed to rescue,” Van Wyk told South African national broadcaster SABC on Wednesday.
“As the rescue effort continues through the night, the emergency response team will now deploy more concrete breakers and additional trucks to remove debris from the site to free the remaining trapped patients,” George County said in a statement.
The cause of the disaster at the construction site has not yet been determined, but local and national authorities have promised thorough investigations.
Esa Alexander/REUTERS
Moses Malala, a foreman who survived the collapse, told AFP he heard a loud sound before the building collapsed. Malala, who was working on the roof, said she felt her feet slip as the building began to bend to one side.
He saw his colleagues fall one by one. Many are still buried under the rubble.
Malala was injured but escaped with her life and has been helping with rescue efforts.
“I’m in a lot of pain… I can’t sleep,” he said. “Since I’ve been here on Monday, we’ve tried to keep away our relatives, our brothers.”
More than 200 rescuers and emergency service personnel divided into three teams searched separate areas on Wednesday.
The building, which collapsed at around 2pm on Monday, was supposed to be a 42-unit apartment block.
WILLIE VAN TONDER/AFP/Getty
On Tuesday night, light applause was heard as a survivor was pulled from the rubble and placed on a stretcher. Another body was recovered and wrapped in a blanket.
“This is tragic, this should never have happened,” said Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of the humanitarian aid NGO Gift of the Givers. “You can’t blame the municipality, you can’t blame the government. You have to blame the people who were responsible for this construction.”
Religious leaders and social workers were on site to help and comfort distraught families.
Men, women and children sang and prayed at City Hall as they awaited news of their loved ones.
“I don’t feel good because I didn’t get any information,” said Alfred Mbono, a family member of a missing worker. “They just told us that… we need to wait. But we waited for… three days.”
