GEORGE, South Africa, May 8, (AP): Nearly 40 construction workers were still missing Wednesday in the rubble of a building that collapsed in South Africa on Monday as rescue teams continued to search for survivors for a third day in the wreckage of the unfinished five-story apartment complex.
Seven workers have been confirmed dead, while authorities in the city of George on South Africa’s south coast released new information on the injuries, saying 16 of the 29 people rescued from the debris were in a critical condition in hospitals and another six had life-threatening injuries. They said 39 workers were still unaccounted for and buried in the rubble of concrete and mangled metal scaffolding.
The collapse of the building that was still under construction sparked a desperate rescue effort that has seen specialist disaster response teams brought in from other towns and cities to help. A total of 75 construction workers were at the building site when it came down, the George municipality said.
More than 200 rescue personnel continued to search for survivors using sniffer dogs and underground cameras. Cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were brought in to lift some of the huge concrete slabs that came crashing down on workers, while rescuers formed lines to remove the smaller rubble by hand.
Rescuers said some of the survivors had used their cell phones while trapped under the debris to contact family members and that had helped emergency responders find them.
Dozens still missing after South Africa building collapse
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