(Cape Town) Some 48 workers are trapped under the rubble of a building under construction which collapsed on Monday afternoon in George, on the South African coast, more than 400 km east of Cape Town, a we learned from the municipality.
“A work crew of approximately 70 people was on site at the time of the collapse” of this building under construction, said municipality spokesperson Chantel Edwards in a statement.
Of this total, 22 people were hospitalized, she added, without further information on the condition of some 48 others who are still under the rubble.
Mario Ferreira, spokesperson for the NGO Gift of the Givers, present at the scene of the accident, told AFP that rescuers had “communicated with some people under the rubble”.
The five-story building, including an underground parking lot, collapsed early in the afternoon, for reasons still undetermined.
Photos released by the municipality show a flattened construction site where numerous emergency services are present.
According to Mario Ferreira, among those evacuated, some were “seriously injured”. At this stage, no deaths have been recorded, he added.
Rescue operations were expected to continue into the evening.