More workers rescued from George building as death toll reaches seven

Thirty-three workers had been removed from the rubble of the collapsed multistorey construction site in George as at 7.40pm on Tuesday, and the death toll has risen to seven. 

This means rescuers retrieved five more workers between 2pm and 7.40pm on Tuesday. 

In an update, the George municipality said this left 42 people unaccounted for. It said 75 workers were present on the site at the time of the collapse at 2.09pm on Monday.

On Tuesday afternoon, George mayor Leon van Wyk said the developers of the site, Neotrend Group, submitted building plans to the municipality in December 2022 and the plans were approved on July 6 2023.

The building on the 1,228m² site consisted of a basement, above-ground parking and four floors of 42 residential flats, with an 887m² footprint.

“The construction material is four times that, 3,600m² of construction standing on parking above ground,” Van Wyk said.

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