South Africa ends rescue efforts at collapsed building: summary

What we know

• South African authorities concluded a 12-day rescue and recovery effort for the May 6 building collapse in the city of George in the nation's south coast
• The rescue operation concluded on May 17, 2024, with 29 survivors, 10 people still in hospital, and 19 people have either been discharged or received on-site medical treatment
• The final report confirmed that 33 individuals lost their lives in the disaster and that at the time of the incident, there were 62 workers on the building site
• The site has now been turned over to investigators to determine the cause of the accident. President Cyril Ramaphosa also visited the site and promised compensation for the victims as well as accountability pending the outcome of the investigation
• During the evacuation and rescue operations in the city of George on South Africa's south coast, authorities reported that rescue teams feared that the death toll could eventually exceed 50
• Despite the initial number of individuals in the building before it collapsed standing at 81, Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs, and Development Planning, Anton Bredell stated on May 17 that 62 people were on the building site when the collapse occurred on May 6 adding that this meant reduced grieving for the families of the victims

What they said

The city of George after rescue operations went underway said in a statement "Despite the introduction of large machinery, rescue techniques will still be applied meticulously and sensitively by the highly skilled and experienced disaster management team." Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell commenting on the initial number in the building before it collapsed also said: “I am very happy that we could revise the number of people on site down from 81 to 62, as it means fewer families are grieving today.”