Dozens Still Trapped in South Africa's Deadly Building Collapse as Rescue Operations Continue

Cape Town: Rescue teams searching for dozens of construction workers missing after an apartment complex collapsed in South Africa brought out more survivors Tuesday as y entered a second night of desperate work to find anyone alive in wreckage. At least seven people have been confirmed de.

Authorities said 26 workers h now been rescued from site where five-story building collapsed Monday while under construction in George, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Cape Town on South Africa’s south coast. An ditional 42 people are believed to be still buried in debris of concrete and metal scaffolding.

Rescuers were hopeful of more people being found alive after saying earlier that y h me contact with at least 11 workers trapped in rubble and were communicating with m.

It wasn't immediately clear how many of those h been rescued but five survivors were brought out on Tuesday, ding to 21 found on Monday, according to a count provided by city authorities. re were 75 construction workers on site when building collapsed.

Rescuers erupted in applause as one of survivors was brought to surface. y yelled at man to “stay with us!” as he was pulled out of a gap in wreckage and put on a stretcher. y n shouted to him, “You are outside now!"

Authorities haven't given updated details on extent of injuries but said in first few hours after collapse that at least 11 of workers rescued h severe injuries.

Colin Deiner, he of provincial Western Cape disaster management services, said search-and-rescue operation would likely take at least three days. He said it would take at least rest of Tuesday to bring out all 11 of survivors y h located, which included a group of four workers trapped in what was basement of building.

Some of those workers h limbs under concrete slabs and couldn't move, Deiner said.

“We are going to give it absolute maximum time to see how many people we can rescue,” Deiner said at a news conference. “It is very, very difficult if you are working with concrete breakers and drillers close to people.”

“Our big concern is entrapment for many hours when a person’s body parts are compressed. So, you need to get medical help for m. We got our medics in as soon as we possibly could.”

Deiner said it was possible that re were more survivors deeper in wreckage and a process of removing layers of concrete would begin in time.

More than 100 emergency services and or personnel h been working on site in shifts and rescue operation h passed 30-hour mark since building collapsed.

Rescuers were using sniffer dogs to try to locate workers. Large cranes and or heavy lifting equipment were brought in to help and tall spotlights were erected to allow rescuers to work in dark.

Deiner said a critical part of rescue operation came when y h ordered everyone to remain quiet and shut off machinery so y could listen for any survivors. That's when y located some of m, he said.

“We were actually hearing people through rubble,” Deiner said.

Several local hospitals were making space in ir trauma units in anticipation that more people might be brought out alive. More than 50 emergency responders h also been brought in from or towns and cities to help, including a specialised team that deals with rescue operations in collapsed structures.

Family and friends of workers h gared at nearby municipal offices and were being supported by social workers, George municipality said.

Authorities were starting investigations into what caused tragedy, and a criminal case was opened by police, but re was no immediate information on why building collapsed. CCTV footage from a nearby home showed concrete structure and metal scaffolding suddenly collapsing, causing a plume of dust to rise over neighbourhood.

People came streaming out of or buildings after collapse, with some of m screaming and shouting.

Alan Winde, premier of Western Cape province, said re would be investigations by both provincial government and police.

Authorities said that under city law private construction company's engineers were responsible for safety of building site until its completion, when it would be handed over to city to check and clear.

Winde said priority was rescue effort and investigations would unfold after that.

“At moment, officials are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage,” Winde said.

national government was being briefed on rescue operation, Winde said. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa released a statement offering his condolences to families of victims and also called for investigations into cause of collapse.