Condolences for families of George building collapse

President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended condolences to the families of those who died in the George building structure collapse.

By Tuesday morning, the collapse had claimed the lives of five people.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to the relatives and friends of five people who have died in an incident where a building collapsed in George in the southern Cape.

“The President’s thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones as well as the families of close to 50 people who are trapped in the rubble,” the Presidency said in a statement.

Operations are still underway to rescue those still trapped under the rubble in the Western Cape town.

“President Ramaphosa wishes rescue teams the best as they go about their operations and says investigations into the cause of the incident must aim to bring closure to the community and prevent a repeat of this disaster,” the statement concluded.

A media statement issued by the George Municipality in the early hours of Tuesday morning said that that 51 people were unaccounted for at the 75 Victoria Street collapsed multi-storey site.

“Seventy-five construction workers were present on the site at the time of the collapse which occurred at 14:09 on Monday, 6 May. Three teams of rescue personnel are currently working on three different areas within the site of the collapsed building.”

Meanwhile, the municipality expressed heartfelt appreciation for the organisations and individuals who have sprung into action to assist with the rescue operation.”

Meanwhile, in a media statement on social media platform X, the Western Cape government said it was “closely monitoring and sending resources to assist the emergency response to a construction site collapse in George.”

“All the necessary support has been offered to emergency personnel to expedite their response. At the moment, officials are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage,” Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said in Monday’s statement.

The provincial government further added that it was sending personnel and emergency response support. – SAnews.gov.za