7 dead, dozens missing after a South African building collapses

Rescue teams used underground cameras and sniffer dogs on Wednesday to search for nearly 40 construction workers still missing in the rubble two days after a home under construction collapsed on South Africa’s coast.

Seven workers were confirmed dead, 16 of the 29 people rescued from the rubble were in hospitals in critical condition and another six had life-threatening injuries, authorities said. They said 39 workers were still missing and buried under the rubble of concrete and mangled metal scaffolding.

The unfinished five-story apartment complex collapsed on Monday in George, a town on South Africa’s southern coast about 250 miles east of Cape Town. It sparked a desperate rescue operation that drew disaster response teams from other cities. According to the community of George, a total of 75 construction workers were at the site when it collapsed.

More than 200 rescue workers continued to search for survivors. Cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were used to remove some of the huge concrete slabs that fell on workers, while rescuers formed lines to remove smaller pieces of debris by hand.

Rescuers said some of the survivors trapped under the rubble used their mobile phones to contact family members and this helped rescue workers find them.

There were cheers and applause as some survivors were brought out Tuesday evening.

Colin Deiner, the head of the rescue operation, said it was a “very successful night” but there was less progress on Wednesday. Rescuers spoke to the survivors through the rubble before bringing them out, but they could no longer hear anything under the rubble, Deiner said.

The operation has entered a new phase, with rescue workers increasingly using heavy equipment to lift concrete to reach deeper areas in the hope that there will be more survivors in the gaps in the collapsed rubble.

“We remain in rescue mode,” Deiner said. “Our crew is working in difficult conditions and work continues in various areas we have access to. Large equipment is brought along.”

The George community continued to call for donations of water, energy drinks and food for emergency personnel who had been working shifts for more than 48 hours. The Western Cape provincial government has dispatched emergency teams from Cape Town and other cities to help with the rescue effort, which authorities said was expected to last at least until Friday.

George is a town of around 150,000 people on South Africa’s scenic Garden Route, known as a holiday and golf destination.

Authorities have announced multiple investigations into the cause of the building collapse, including by police, the provincial government and the national labor ministry.

“This will have consequences,” said Anton Bredell, the provincial minister for local development planning.

Ntshangase and Imray write for the Associated Press. Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.