40 workers trapped after building under construction reportedly collapses in South Africa

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Police and fire crews conduct search and rescue efforts Wednesday after a building collapsed near Boise Airport. CREDIT: Cody Ard via Storyful

• A building under construction collapsed in George, South Africa, resulting in multiple injuries.
• At least 59 people were trapped under the rubble, with 10 rescued and five sustaining serious injuries.
• The collapse occurred in a coastal city, about 250 miles east of Cape Town.

A multi-story apartment building under construction collapsed Monday in a coastal city in South Africa, injuring at least 22 workers and trapping more than 40 others in the rubble, authorities said.

The injured workers were taken to a hospital, but authorities did not immediately provide details of their injuries. South African media reported that at least five workers had sustained serious injuries.

Local media reports said at least 59 people were trapped under the rubble after the collapse of what appeared to be a multi-story apartment block that was being built. The reports said 10 people had been rescued, with five sustaining serious injuries.

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The building collapsed just after 2 p.m. in the city of George, about 250 miles east of Cape Town on South Africa’s south coast.

A multi-story apartment building under construction collapsed Monday in a coastal city in South Africa, injuring at least 22 workers and trapping more than 40 others in the rubble, authorities said. (Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The George Municipality said in a statement that its disaster management services, ambulances and police were responding to the building collapse. The building was located close to the municipal offices, it said.

It said there were multiple injuries but did not give any more details.

George Municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe told the News24 media outlet that the structure looked like it had four or five stories.

“At the moment, we don’t have the exact number of injuries,” Mangqwengqwe said. “Our emergency personnel and local ambulances are on site.”

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The provincial Western Cape government said it was closely monitoring the situation and had sent resources to assist city authorities with the emergency response.

“All the necessary support has been offered to emergency personnel to expedite their response. At the moment, officials are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage,” Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, the head of the provincial government, said in a statement.

The national government was being briefed, Winde said.