On Wednesday morning, members of the recovery team’s early shift took over from the team that had worked through the night to continue sorting through the debris and steel in an effort to recover the bodies of the 19 workers who are still missing.
According to the Garden Route district municipality, rescue personnel and other roleplayers have spent 211 hours at the scene of the collapsed building.
As it collapsed, the five-storey building swallowed the estimated 81 people who were on site on 75 Victoria Street in George last Monday.
33 people confirmed dead
Of the estimated 81 workers who were on site, the team has rescued and recovered 62 people, of whom 33 are deceased.
According to the municipality, 27 men and six women were killed in the tragedy.
After being rescued from the rubble, 12 workers were admitted to the hospital, while 19 others are still unaccounted for.
“Up to now, 47 victims have been linked to their families,” said the municipality.
“The identification of the deceased is the joint responsibility of the SA Police Service [SAPS] and the Western Cape department of health and wellness, which also manages the visual identification in support of the SAPS.
“After an incident such as this, visual identification can understandably be difficult and traumatic for family members and requires SAPS to undertake identification through scientific means, of which DNA testing is one method.”
Labour minister to visit the site
The municipality also said that the Garden Route district joint operations centre’s adherence to a stringent double-verification protocol is crucial for maintaining the integrity and accuracy of reported numbers of the deceased, which is essential in emergency and disaster response scenarios.
“This verification process involves cross-referencing information from multiple reliable sources, such as recovery teams, hospitals, and forensic services,” said the municipality.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Thulas Nxesi, is expected to visit the site of the tragedy on Thursday to assess the progress of the recovery mission.
The Western Cape department of social development has indicated that a comprehensive range of services will continue to be made available to the affected families for a minimum of six months.
