George Municipality
Search and rescue efforts by multi-disciplinary teams battling to retrieve 39 people trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in George slowed on Wednesday due to “challenges” posed by the sheer volume of collapsed concrete.
Colin Deiner, chief director for Disaster Management in the Western Cape said there would now be a long road ahead for them having to “physically” search for the remaining people.
He noted that the people with whom they had been in contact with and those that they could hear, were recovered from the rubble, highlighting that it was a “successful” night on Tuesday removing people.
So far, 36 of the 75 people on the construction site at the time were retrieved, while seven fatalities were reported.
“This building has provided a whole range of challenges from a rescue perspective. And, although we went at high risk to save lives over the last two days, what’s very important for us is our own people’s safety,” Deiner told a media briefing on Wednesday.
Professor Richard Walls of Stellenbosch University said larger equipment will be brought in “due to the condition” of the collapsed building, with around 3000 tons of concrete “sitting precariously.”
“The challenge that we are having is the sheer quantity of demolition that they have to go through with the tools available. It’s been a slow process.
“Also, they are balancing on angled slabs, working in difficult conditions,” he said.
Professor Walls said given the situation, the “manner of work has had to change which slowed down things today.”
