Seven Zimbabweans have been confirmed dead after a building collapsed in George, Western Cape, South Africa.
Joint Operations Command for the Garden Route and George Municipality He said in a statement that 33 people were killed while 62 others were rescued.
Fifteen of them were from South Africa, Mozambique (19), Zimbabwe (7), Malawi (13) and Sotho (five) while one person was recorded as holding permanent residency.
“Search and rescue efforts have been completed. Accordingly, the site has been classified as a crime scene and has been officially handed over for formal investigation by the South African Police Service who will hand it over to the Department of Labor and Employment for formal investigation.
“The success of the rescue efforts undertaken after the building collapse can be largely attributed to the decisive actions taken during the first 48 hours. During this period, rescuers conducted their operations with remarkable precision by ensuring that the victims were safely extracted from the incident.
“This rapid establishment phase was also carefully coordinated from the on-site Joint Operations Center and a multi-agency command center in the Garden Route District Municipality.”
