By Bhargav Acharya and Tannur Anders
GEORGE, South Africa (Reuters) – Rescue efforts were underway after 22 people were injured and dozens remained trapped after a multi-storey building under construction collapsed in the South African city of George, authorities said on Monday.
Those rescued from the site had been sent to hospitals across the Western Cape province, the municipality of George, a coastal city east of Cape Town, said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.
“The collapse occurred just after 2 pm (1200 GMT) today, 6 May with a construction crew of approximately 70 on site,” it said.
CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a cloud of dust as the building crumbled.
“I saw one guy was working and then ‘boom’ and I saw the whole building collapsed… I’m also traumatised. It is very sad,” Theresa Jeyi, a local councillor, told reporters at the scene.
State-owned broadcaster SABC earlier reported that more than 40 people were trapped under the rubble.
The provincial government said it was monitoring the situation.
“At the moment, officials are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage,” said Alan Winde, Western Cape premier.
Rescue workers on site were trying to recover where they heard calls from people, George Mayor Leon van Wyk told SABC, while rescue equipment were on its way.
“This is going to be a really lengthy exercise and probably going to go right through the night,” he said.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Tannur Anders in Johannesburg and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; editing by Estelle Shirbon, Alex Richardson and Aurora Ellis)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.