George building collapse rescue operation 'will live forever in our memories' - Diener

CAPE TOWN - Saturday, 6 June 2024 marks two months since the tragic building collapse in George, which left 34 people dead and prompted a massive multi-faceted search-and-rescue operation which saw rescuers working non-stop for eleven days.

According to the George Municipality, 62 people were on the building site when the building collapsed on Monday, 6 May, leaving 34 people dead.

In the operation which followed, 28 people were safely rescued from the rubble.

With the dust now settled, Western Cape Disaster Management chief, Colin Diener, who coordinated the rescue plan, looked back at the tragedy.

IN PICS: Aftermath of the deadly George building collapse

Diener said he received a phone call about the building collapse on that Monday afternoon and immediately activated the province's Urban Rescue Plan.

He then made his way to George and arrived at the site, along with the rescue teams later that evening.

"We all arrived between 21:00 and 23:00 on the Monday evening, and my initial real shock was when I was being shown around and we walked over the building and we could hear people shouting from underneath the structure," Diener recalled.    

Diener said the teams sprung into action and started working at "a tremendous pace" to get those stuck under the rubble out.

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"Within the first 48 hours, we were able to rescue a significant amount of people. The equipment that arrived from the city coming in over the next couple of days got us into a position where we were able to continue in rescue mode for more than five days," he said.

Following an extensive 11-day search and recovery operation, the site was eventually cleared after all of the 62 workers on site at the time of the collapse, were accounted for.

Diener lauded everyone who played a role in the massive rescue operation.

The Urban Search and Rescue Plan included bringing in specialist rescuers from the Department of Health, Metro Rescue, the City of Cape Town and Breede Valley.

"With the help of SAPS search dogs, who were absolutely amazing, as well as their rescuers, I think it was testament to everybody just how much effort was put in by so many... the city, the province, the rescuers, the other volunteers," he said.

IN PICS: A moment of silence for lives lost in George building collapse  

Diener also heaped praise on the residents of George, who opened their homes to offer rescuers refreshments during the operation.

"Just the kind of resilience that was shown by that community, the support... You know you could be working through the night and two o'clock in the morning you could go to them and you could get a coffee," he said.

Diener said the resilience of everyone involved in the operation was a testament to the character of South African people.

"The last that I heard is that the 28 people who were rescued are still alive and recovering and that really for us is the best reward that we could have ever received as rescuers. It's a rescue operation that will live forever in our memories and the people we worked with," Diener said.

An engineer has since been suspended pending an ongoing investigation into the cause of the collapse.