George building collapse: 'Crush syndrome, biggest injury risk' - Disaster chief amid intense rescue efforts
Victims recovered from the rubble are stabilised on site before they’re rushed to George Hospital less than two kilometres away. Sixteen survivors are in a critical condition.
Medics at the scene of the George building collapse on 8 May 2024. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
GEORGE - Hospitals in the Garden Route have cleared trauma halls and emergency rooms to manage the influx of victims from the collapsed building in George.
George Provincial Hospital is the primary facility.
Some critical patients have also been transferred to a private hospital in the town.
Smaller district hospitals in neighbouring towns are also on standby to assist.
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Victims recovered from the rubble are stabilised on site before they’re rushed to George Hospital less than two kilometres away. Sixteen survivors are in a critical condition.
Six of the construction workers have suffered life threatening injuries after being trapped under the weight of concrete slabs for almost two days.
Survivors with multiple injuries have been transferred to the town’s MediClinic for treatment.
As more time passes with workers still stuck under the rubble mounds, provincial disaster chief Colin Deiner said the rescue effort had stepped up to a critical stage.
“The biggest injury risk is ‘crush syndrome’. So, you might rescue him alive but they die a few hours later. We’ve got our medics on the scene. The moment we recover a body, they immediately start putting fluids in to keep that person alive.”
Medical teams at district hospitals in Knysna, Mossel Bay and Oudshoorn are also on standby to take on an additional load.