A multistorey apartment building under construction collapsed on Monday in South Africa, killing five construction workers and leaving 49 people trapped under the rubble.
Authorities said 21 people were rescued from the site and sent to hospitals in the municipality of George city, about 400km east of Cape Town.
At least 11 of them are severely injured.
“Seventy-five members of construction crew have been confirmed on-site at that time of the incident,” the head of the provincial Western Cape government, Alan Winde said.
The incident happened just after 2pm local time. Rescue teams worked through the night searching for dozens of construction workers buried under the rubble.
More than 100 emergency personnel arrived at the site using sniffer dogs to find survivors.
Cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were sent to help with the rescue effort and more emergency responders were being brought in from nearby towns and cities.
Rescue workers on site were trying to recall where they heard calls from people, George executive mayor Leon van Wyk told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Rescuers made contact with 11 workers trapped in the rubble and were hopeful of bringing them out, said Colin Deiner, the chief director of the provincial Western Cape Disaster Management and Fire and Rescue Services.
He said some of them were talking to rescuers but were unable to move because they had limbs trapped under concrete.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his “deep condolences to the relatives and friends” of the victims and said his thoughts were with the families of the dead and missing.
He called for an investigation, saying it must “bring closure to the community and prevent a repeat of this disaster”.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident and a case has been opened by the police.
Photos shared by the city council showed a flattened construction site with multiple rescue services present.
“Our thoughts are with the families and all those affected who continue to wait on word of their loved ones,” Mr van Wyk said.
The provincial Western Cape government said it was closely monitoring the situation and had sent resources to assist with the emergency response.
“All the necessary support has been offered to emergency personnel to expedite their response,” Mr Winde said. “At the moment, officials are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage.”
The national government was being briefed on the rescue operation.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
