George building collapse: Search and rescue efforts completed, majority of victims were foreign nationals

The George Municipality announced on Friday that search and rescue efforts were now completed.

The collapse on Victoria Street, that claimed 33 lives, has now been classified as a crime scene and has officially been handed over for a formal investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Thereafter it will be handed over to the Department of Labour and Employment for their formal investigation to be conducted.

The success of the rescue efforts undertaken after the building collapse, can be largely attributed to the critical actions taken during the first 48-hours, the municipality said.

“During this period, rescuers performed their operations with remarkable precision by ensuring victims were safely removed from the incident.”

The municipality said based on information received from the contractor on site, SAPS, and other emerging external sources (witness statements), the estimated number of individuals on site during the incident amounted to approximately 81.

“We are aware that as the incident unfolded the numbers fluctuated, however we can now officially confirm that with the rescue and recovery efforts now completed, only 62 individuals are accounted for.”

The municipality said the difference between the approximate of people on site and the official number now confirmed can be attributed to three reasons.

The first one was that some of the names on the contractor's list were duplicated.

Secondly the official investigations by SAPS confirmed that some of those on the contractor's list were not at work on the day of the incident.

And the third was CCTV clearly proved that some of those on the site left before the first responders reached the site and to date they have never reported their whereabouts.

The numbers are as follows:

* Rescued and recovered: 62

* Deceased: 33 (Of the 33 deceased, two still to be formally identified.)

* Hospitalised: 10

* Discharged: 19

List of nationalities present on the incident site:

* South Africa: 15

* Mozambique: 19

* Zimbabwe: 7

* Malawi: 13

* Lesotho: 5

* Permanent Residency Holder: 1

* Unknown nationality: 2

The municipality said repatriations are being undertaken by the Consulates of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Lesotho.

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