Ramaphosa set to visit site of collapsed building in George

GEORGE - President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the site of the George construction tragedy on Thursday.

He is set to meet survivors and families still awaiting news about their loved ones. 

Eighty-one people were on the site when the building folded last week Monday, and - at last count - 19 people are still unaccounted for, with 33 deaths confirmed.

It's 10 days into the operation, and demolition crews and rescuers are still working shoulder to shoulder.

Disaster officers have not written off the possibility of another miracle find.

As bodies are retrieved from the rubble, forensic teams subsequently undertake the stringent verification process.

However, with some of the workers undocumented, this is complicating their efforts. 

"We've made it easier, we've asked police to visit where we know there's a family member. Not enforcing the rule of law so strictly, we have a soft approach. Obviously, our police must enforce the rule of law but we also need to identify these people," said the Garden Route disaster chief Gerhard Otto.

Repatriation is not a service the Department of International Relations and Cooperation offers, and it's appealed for assistance to return victims to their home countries. 

The Labour Department is also expected to return to the site on Thursday, for an update on its investigation.