THE death toll from the building collapse in George, Western Cape, has increased, a week after the five-storey property on 75 Victoria Street fell to the ground, leaving workers trapped under the rubble.
The George municipality confirmed that 56 people have been retrieved from under the debris, while 25 are still unaccounted for.
The verification process will involve cross-referencing information from multiple reliable sources, such as recovery teams, hospitals and forensic services.
During a site visit last Thursday, the department of employment and labour said it had launched an investigation into the collapse.
Although the international standard for such rescue operations is three days, the Western Cape provincial disaster management unit said it would continue with efforts to rescue the 25 people still unaccounted for.
The minister of Public Works Sihle Zikalala and his team visited the area and gave account of what happened, today.
Many of the families affected by the building collapse, are workers from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Image (Field and safety workers outside the collapsed building in George, Cape Town. Death’s figures have increased from 28).
