Eleven Mozambicans among victims of building collapse in South Africa

The head of the Disaster Management Center in the South African city of George confirmed on Tuesday that 11 Mozambicans were among the victims of the collapse of a building under construction, two of whom were killed and nine were injured.

“After comparing data received from hospitals and the Ministry of the Interior, we can now confirm that of the 11 Mozambican nationals who the contractor said were on site, all can be counted,” said the head of the Control Center, Gerhard Otto. This was reported to Lusa Disaster Management in George, in the coastal Garden Route region of the Western Cape.

The South African official added that “nine [moçambicanos] were identified in hospital records, and two were pronounced dead.”

According to local South African authorities, at least 81 workers were on the construction site when the five-storey building in the coastal town of George collapsed on the 6th.

According to a report released this afternoon by the George Municipality, the collapse of a building under construction killed at least 33 people (27 men and six women), 12 people remain in hospital and 19 are missing.

More than 200 operatives are involved in the search and rescue efforts, local authorities said.

South Africa’s Department of Employment and Labor is investigating the accident, mobilizing “multidisciplinary teams consisting of engineers, forensic experts, geotechnical specialists and scientists,” Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala said.