Six dead of 28 rescued from George building collapse

Forty-seven workers were still trapped under rubble at the construction site in George, Western Cape, on Tuesday afternoon 24 hours after the collapse.  

Updating media at 2.30pm, Western Cape premier Alan Winde said rescuers retrieved 28 of the 75 workers at the scene. Of the 28, six were certified dead. 

Winde said department of employment and labour inspectors and Western Cape disaster management were at the scene and the province had appointed independent structural engineers to probe the cause of the collapse. About 200 people were at the scene working to free those trapped under the rubble.  

George mayor Leon van Wyk said the developers of the site, Neotrend Group, submitted building plans to the municipality in December 2022 and the plans were approved on July 6 2023.  

The building on the 1,228m² site consisted of a basement, above ground parking and four floors of 42 residential flats, with an 887m² footprint.  

“The construction material is four times that, 3,600m² of construction standing on parking above ground,” Van Wyk said. 

Winde said he is briefing the families of the workers on developments. 

“There is constant briefing that will run throughout the night.” 

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