Pressure mounting on Labour Dept to determine cause of deadly George building collapse

GEORGE - Pressure is mounting on the Labour Department to determine what led the fatal collapse of a building in George.

At least six people died when the five-storey apartment block toppled on Monday. 

Forty-seven remain trapped under the rubble.

Parallel to the marathon search and rescue operation at the site, the Labour Department is investigating what went wrong.

Seventy-five artisans attached to different companies were on the site when the building caved in. 

While rescue teams work to retrieve construction workers still stuck underground, structural engineers and forensic investigators have been on site to determine what caused the collapse and who is responsible.

George Mayor Leon van Wyk said that parallel investigations were already underway.

"The owners and the construction company, we’re not at liberty to disclose that at this stage. It is already a criminal site. The Labour Department, the police have also been on site. From a provincial and a municipal side, we’ll also be looking at an investigation."

Over 100 rescuers are working on the site.

Operations are expected to scale up over the next three days before squads turn their focus to recovery efforts.