MEDIA STATEMENT: 6:00 am Status Update – Building Collapse, Victoria Street – Georg

Issued Garden Route District Joc/George Municipality, 10 May 2024, @ 6:23am

GRDM Joc confirms that a hospitalized *red patient has been declared deceased as at 10 May.

Total estimated number on-site at the time of incident: 81
Patients retrieved:                                                              37
Patients blue:                                                                      9 (deceased)
Patients red status on recovery from site:                         15 (critical)
Patients yellow status on recovery from site:                     6 (life-threatening injuries)
Patients green status on recovery from site:                      7 (minor injuries)
Unaccounted:                                                                      44

The rescue operation has reached 88 hours, as of 6:25 at 10 May.

Big earth-moving machinery has arrived last night which includes two five (5) ton excavators, three (3) 20-ton excavators with hammers and buckets, and a three (3) cube front-end loader, as well as trucks for extraction and clearing. The rescue operation continues to be a multi-agency approach, involving local excavation contractors and the District Roads Engineer.

Despite the introduction of large machinery, rescue techniques will still be applied meticulously and sensitively by the highly skilled and experienced disaster management team.

An update will be issued by 9 am on Friday 10 May 2024, – South African Time.

On-site Triage Description
Blue:      Deceased
Red:       Critical
Yellow:  Life-threatening injuries
Green: Minor injuries

Note: Medical Status of patients is not disclosed. The status given is as at recovery from the incident site.
*Note: Person declared deceased as at 10 May is a red patient who was retrieved has been in hospital, and has now been declared decesased.

 Photo by: Garden Route District Municipality, Herman Pieters