Inside Politics Reporter
President Cyril Ramaphosa sent his deep condolences to the relatives and friends of five people who have died in an incident where a building collapsed in George in the southern Cape.
The building collapsed on Monday afternoon and about 75 members of the construction crew had been on site at that time of the incident.
27 people were rescued in the wreckage and sent to hospitals or medical centres in George. However, three of them were declared dead on the site.
Ramaphosa said his thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones as well as the families of close to 50 people who are trapped in the rubble.
“President Ramaphosa wishes rescue teams the best as they go about their operations and says investigations into the cause of the incident must aim to bring closure to the community and prevent a repeat of this disaster,” Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
The Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the government is closely monitoring and sending resources to assist the emergency response to the collapsed building.
All the necessary support has been offered to emergency personnel to expedite their response. At the moment, officials are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage,” he said.
Winde has urged the public to allow emergency services officials the space to carry out their duties and not put their own lives at risk by traveling to the site.
Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk expressed his sincere condolences on behalf of George Council and the municipal administration to the family and colleagues of the deceased.
“Our thoughts are with the families and all those affected who continue to wait on word of their loved one’s,” said Ald Van Wyk.
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