7 dead, dozens missing after collapse of building under construction in South Africa
GEORGE, South Africa — Rescue teams used underground cameras and sniffer dogs Wednesday to search for nearly 40 construction workers still missing in rubble two days after the collapse of an apartment building under construction in coastal South Africa.
Seven workers have been confirmed dead, while 16 of the 29 people rescued from the debris were in critical condition in hospitals and an additional six had life-threatening injuries, authorities said. They said 39 workers were still unaccounted for and buried in the rubble of concrete and mangled metal scaffolding.
The unfinished five-story apartment complex collapsed Monday in George, a city on South Africa’s south coast about 250 miles east of Cape Town. It sparked a desperate rescue effort that has drawn disaster response teams from other towns and cities. A total of 75 construction workers were at the building site when it came down, the George municipality said.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- When four large explosions reverberated through Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall during a terrorist siege Monday, sending a pall of black smoke into the air, the official Kenyan response -- that the militants had set fire to mattresses -- strained credulity.
More than 200 rescue personnel continued to search for survivors. Cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were brought in to remove some of the huge concrete slabs that came crashing down on workers, while rescuers formed lines to remove smaller pieces of rubble by hand.
Rescuers said some of the survivors trapped under the debris had used their cellphones to contact family members and that helped emergency responders find them.
There were cheers and applause when some survivors were brought out Tuesday night.
Colin Deiner, the head of the rescue effort, said it was a “very successful night” but there was less progress Wednesday. Rescuers had been speaking with those survivors through the rubble before bringing them out, but they were not hearing anything from beneath the debris anymore, he said.
The operation has moved into a new phase in which rescuers rely more on heavy equipment to lift concrete so they can reach deeper areas in the hope there were more survivors in gaps in the collapsed debris.
Firefighters are battling a major blaze at South Africa’s national Parliament complex in the southern city of Cape Town.
“We will remain in rescue mode,” Deiner said. “Our crew is working [in] difficult conditions and work will continue in various areas we can get access to. Large equipment will be brought in.”
The George municipality continued to call for donations of water, energy drinks and food for the rescue personnel, who had been working in shifts for more than 48 hours. The Western Cape provincial government has sent emergency response teams from Cape Town and other cities to help with the rescue effort, which officials said was likely to last at least until Friday.
George is a city of some 150,000 people on South Africa’s coastal Garden Route known as a vacation and golfing destination.
Authorities have announced multiple investigations into the cause of the building collapse, including by police, the provincial government and the national department of labor.
“There will be consequences,” said Anton Bredell, the provincial minister of local development planning.
Ntshangase and Imray write for the Associated Press. Imray reported from Cape Town.
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