By Anita Dangazele
The death toll in the George building collapse in the Western Cape rose to 34 on Sunday after another person died in hospital.
The scene of the building collapse which happened nearly two weeks ago was officially declared a crime scene and handed over to the South African Police Service for a formal investigation last week.
This was after search and rescue efforts were completed on Friday.
The George municipality said although the number of victims reportedly present in the building fluctuated during the search and rescue operations, they are now certain of the number.
It was initially estimated that approximately 81 individuals were on site during the incident.
“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 statement read.
The George municipality said a few factors contributed to the fluctuating numbers.
Investigations found that some of the names on the contractor’s list were duplicated, and some of the workers were not on site on the day of the collapse.
The municipality also confirmed a rumour that had been going around during the search and rescue ops that some of the workers ran away when they noticed the first signs of the building crumbling.
“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 municipality reported.
Of the 62 people confirmed on site on the day of the crash, 28 people made it out alive. According to the municipality, 10 were still hospitalised, while 19 have been discharged.
Thirty-three were confirmed dead but the number rose to 34 on Sunday after another person died in hospital.
The Labour Department’s Chief Inspector in the Western Cape, David Esau, urged all family members of those who were injured or died in the collapse to register with the department for compensation and assistance with repatriation.
“We have a social security fund, the workman’s compensation fund, as well as UIF. They make provision for death benefits so families can claim. I must mention that even foreigners could qualify for this even if the employees were not registered.
“We will then regain the monies from the employers. That’s one of the reasons we are doing this work administratively, to get them registered and have these people paid out.”
Pictured above: The deep hole left behind at the scene of the collapse after search and rescue operations were concluded.
Image source: George municipality
