Death toll in George building collapse hits 33, with 19 still missing

The death toll in the George building collapse has risen to 33, with 19 people still unaccounted for. Six of the deceased have so far been positively identified.

It is estimated that 81 people were on site when the apartment building in construction caved in last Monday. Authorities say the fact that many of the workers were undocumented is complicating the identification process.

Rescue and recovery efforts have entered their second week. Salga Emergency Services and Disaster Management Chairperson Mluleki Nkosi says that while many of the deceased have been found, the identification process is difficult.

“The challenge is some of the people are afraid to give identity because we understand most of the people that were here, the majority were foreign nationals. So, the families are afraid to give identification because some are illegal as we understand. So, this is making the numbers fluctuate. The mayor was explaining to me, and we watched on CCTV camera when the building collapsed some of them ran away from the scene immediately and never came back

Source: eNCA