George building collapse survivor recounts traumatic experience
Sixty-two construction workers were on-site working when the building under construction caved in on them, killing 34 people.
Rescue workers and sniffer dogs at the site of a collapsed building in George, Western Cape on 6 May 2024. Picture: Herman Pieters/Garden Route District Municipality
JOHANNESBURG - A survivor of the George building collapse says she's still haunted by the tragic incident on 6 May last year.
Sixty-two construction workers were on-site working when the building under construction caved in on them, killing 34 people.
The incident triggered an 11-day search and rescue operation, which resulted in 28 people being saved.
Vuyokazi Singama is one of the 28 people who were pulled out alive from underneath 6,000 tonnes of rubble at 75 Victoria Road in George.
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An emotional Singama told Eyewitness News at the commemoration to mark one year since the tragedy that she still feels trapped.
"I remember the other day I was at a mall in Knysna and we went in the basement. It was like I was still in that building. I don't know when is it going to get out of my mind, and I don't know how am I going to heal."
She says she hasn't been receiving counselling for her trauma.