The death toll in the George building collapse has risen to 24, after three bodies were retrieved from the building site this morning. George Municipality officials also confirmed this morning that of the 81 people who were on site when the accident occurred, 29 people were rescued, 13 hospitalised, 24 are deceased while 28 are still unaccounted for.

TRACING DECEASED FAMILIES 

Rescue and recovery efforts are continuing, a week after the collapse of the building at 75 Victoria Street where a three a storey building, which was still under construction, collapsed. Rescue workers and other role players have been on site for 163 hours. In the statement, the municipality said that as much as their primary focus continues to be on rescue efforts, they are also working on identifying the deceased which they say have been met with difficulties. "We are experiencing difficulties in obtaining accurate names of individuals missing or deceased due to the building collapse. We urgently request families who have lost contact with their loved ones to come to the George Civic Centre on York Street. This will enable the Department of Social Development to collect detailed and precise information, ensuring that all records are accurately documented," the statement read.

INVESTIGATIONS UNDERWAY

On Sunday, Police Minister Bheki Cele and Police Commissioner General Fanie MAsemola visited the site and said the police cannot preempt what might have happened at the building site."As law enforcement, we cannot preempt what might have happened. That would be wrong. Our main focus now is to get people out of the rubble. I can confirm that from the SAPS side, investigations have started," Cele said.

Cele and Masemola also spoke to some of the families of the victims where they met at a local community hall. He said that he was shocked that the contractor has not visited the site or the families of the workers. "It is inhumane that the contractor had not visited the families to at least sympathise with them. I've got a feeling there is not much cooperation in the matter. For now, everybody should be working together," he said.