George building collapse: Municipality calls on family members to identify loved ones

JOHANNESBURG - The George Municipality is calling on family members who lost contact with their loved ones to come forward and assist with the accurate identification of the victims of the five-storey building collapse.

The identification is underway, alongside operations to locate the 20 people who remain trapped under the rubble of the building that caved in last week.

The partially built apartment block collapsed with over 80 workers on site, killing 32 people to date.

READ: IN PICS: A moment of silence for lives lost in George building collapse

It’s understood that the majority of the workers who were on site were foreign nationals from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Following a call for psychosocial practitioners fluent in foreign languages, the municipality’s Chantel Edwards said that they now had adequate support.

"Since the first call for psychosocial support practitioners was put out on the 11th of May, we can confirm that adequate numbers of fluent practitioners in Shona and Portuguese languages are all on-site to address the emotional, social and overall needs of those affected by the  building collapse."