More than 40 workers trapped after a building under construction collapsed in South Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A multi-story apartment building under construction collapsed Monday in a coastal city in South Africa, injuring at least 22 workers and trapping more than 40 others in the rubble, authorities said.
The injured workers were taken to a hospital, but authorities did not immediately provide details of their injuries. South African media reported that at least five workers had sustained serious injuries.
The building collapsed just after 2 p.m. in the city of George, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Cape Town on South Africa’s south coast.
Authorities estimate as many as 48 workers remain trapped based on a count of workers at the site, George Municipality spokesperson Chantel Edwards-Klose said. A total of 70 people were believed to be working on the new apartment building when it collapsed, but that was an early estimate, Edwards-Klose said.