More life signs detected at George building collapse site, death toll rises to 7

GEORGE - Sniffer dogs and thermal detectors have returned to the site of a building collapse in George. 

The rescue hounds and other resources have been called up again after signs of life were detected on Wednesday afternoon. 

Thirty-nine of the 75 construction workers on site, when the tragedy occurred on Monday, are still unaccounted for, while seven have been declared dead and 29 have been rescued.

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Rescuers have recovered all 11 people they had been communicating with for the past 48 hours. 

Sadly, one of those construction workers has since passed away.

After hours of not hearing anything from beneath the rubble, momentum has picked up again, with signs of life detected at the back end of the site. 

Thermal detection cameras, rescue dogs and excavators will now give rescuers more insight. 

The MEC responsible for disaster management, Anton Bredell, said that teams had changed their strategy to access a crushed stairwell.

"Hopefully there’s a vacuum under the staircase. They’re going in from behind. Hopefully, there are people still alive." 

The team will make an assessment of the whether the operation has become a recovery operation on Thursday.