Herman Pieters GRDM
George Municipality said the number of people declared deceased following the collapse of a building under construction stood at seven as of 7.40 pm on Tuesday.
In an update after 9 pm, the Municipality said 34 patients had been removed from the rubble at the scene on Victoria Street, leaving 41 persons unaccounted for.
Seventy-five construction workers were present on the site at the time of the collapse which occurred just after 2 pm on Monday.
Meanwhile, at a media briefing earlier on Tuesday, George's executive mayor, Leon de Villiers, identified the developers as Neo Trend Group Ice Projects.
Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, also said that no stone would be left unturned to get to the bottom of this tragedy.
Asked when the rescue operation will be changed into a recovery operation, officials said they would give it three days before making a decision.
President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his "deep condolences to the relatives and friends" and said his thoughts were with the families of the dead and missing.
He called for an investigation, saying it must "bring closure to the community and prevent a repeat of this disaster".
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