The people who died in the George building collapse will be remembered with a cultural prayer on Wednesday.
The City of George municipality said this after it was revealed on Monday evening that the official death toll from the building collapse had risen to 32.
One of the deceased person’s family members requested the prayer, which will take place on Wednesday evening, according to a statement from the City of George on Tuesday.
Government officials and family members of the deceased, among other people, had gathered at the site in the afternoon to have a moment of silence that marked a week of the tragedy.
Six people positively identified
The city further revealed that six of the deceased were positively identified.
“We are experiencing difficulties in obtaining accurate names of individuals missing or deceased due to the building collapse,” reads the statement.
“We urgently request families who have lost contact with their loved ones to come to the George Civic Centre on York Street.”
Garden Route district municipality manager: disaster management, Gerhard Otto, expressed gratitude to rescue workers who continue to conduct search, rescue and recovery operations.
“Equally, to the family members who have been waiting at home, supporting their loved ones from the Garden Route and afar,” said Otto.
Otto stated that there is still an urgent call for professional psychosocial support practitioners proficient in Chewa, Portuguese, and Shona languages to assist survivors and their families.
20 people are unaccounted for
According to confirmed information on Monday last week, 81 workers were on site when the incident occurred.
Out of the 81, 61 have been found, 32 have been confirmed dead, 12 have been hospitalised, and 20 are unaccounted for.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) in the Western Cape said the people responsible for the building collapse should be held accountable for the deaths of workers.
Numsa acting regional secretary in the Western Cape, Thabo Mbebe, said the union cannot be neutral in cases like this.
“This is a true tragedy of unimaginable proportions,” said Mbebe.
“As a union, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, and we hope that the remaining workers will be rescued soon.”
