At least 11 people still alive under building collapse rubble, South African officials say

Rescue teams trying to find dozens of construction workers missing since a multi-storey apartment complex collapsed in a coastal city in South Africa have made contact with 11 people buried alive beneath the mangled wreckage, authorities said Tuesday.

One man called his wife from underneath the rubble of the five-storey building that had been under construction when it collapsed Monday, the head of the rescue operation said. That enabled emergency responders to locate the man, although he was still trapped and hadn't yet been brought out.

More than 100 emergency services and other personnel worked through the night, using sniffer dogs to try to locate workers. Large cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were brought in to help with the rescue effort and tall spotlights were erected to allow search-and-rescue personnel to work in the dark.

Colin Deiner, head of the provincial Western Cape disaster management services, said a critical part of the rescue operation came when they ordered everyone to remain quiet and shut off machinery so they could listen for any survivors. That's when they located the 11 workers, he said.

"We were actually hearing people through the rubble," Deiner said.

From a distance, several workers wearing helmets and protective clothing are shown at a site filled with large and small pieces of concrete debris.

Rescue workers are seen at the scene of a collapsed building in the South African city of George on Tuesday. Some workers have been confirmed dead following the collapse of the multi-storey building, while dozens of others remain trapped beneath the rubble. (Willie Van Tonder/AFP/Getty Images)

Medical help on scene for any rescued

Six workers have been confirmed dead and there are fears that the death count could rise sharply. There is no news on 37 other people unaccounted for amid the huge slabs of concrete and metal scaffolding that came crashing down when the building collapsed in the city of George, about 400 kilometres east of Cape Town.

Twenty-one other workers were rescued from the site and taken to various hospitals, with at least 11 of them suffering severe injuries, the George municipality said.

Deiner said the search-and-rescue operation would likely take at least three days.

"We are going to give it the absolute maximum time to see how many people we can rescue," Deiner said at a news conference. "It is very, very difficult if you are working with concrete breakers and drillers close to people."

Deiner said it would take most of Tuesday to rescue the 11 workers that rescue teams were in contact with, some of whom had limbs trapped under concrete and couldn't move. Four of the workers are in what was the basement of the building, Deiner said.

A woman with grey hair wearing glasses leans over and hugs a dark complected woman, who is seated and also wearing glasses.

A woman comforts a family member of a construction worker near the site where rescuers search for construction workers trapped under a building that collapsed in George, South Africa. (Esa Alexander/Reuters)

"Our big concern is entrapment for many hours, when a person's body parts are compressed.," Deiner said. "So, you need to get medical help to them. We got our medics in as soon as we possibly could."

Deiner said it was possible that there were more survivors deeper in the wreckage and a process of removing layers of concrete would begin after the 11 located workers were taken out.

Several local hospitals were making space in their trauma units in anticipation that more construction workers might be brought out alive. More than 50 emergency responders had also been brought in overnight from other towns and cities to help, including a specialized team that deals with rescue operations in collapsed structures.

Investigations into cause expected

Family and friends of the workers had gathered at the nearby municipal offices and were being supported by social workers, the George municipality said.

Authorities were starting investigations into what caused the tragedy, and a criminal case was opened by police, but there was no immediate information on why the building suddenly collapsed.

An overhead view shows a plot of land with large pieces of concrete and metal debris, with an unspecified number of helmeted workers shown.

A drone view of the scene of a building collapse where several construction workers are thought to be trapped in George, South Africa, is shown on Tuesday. (Shafiek Tassiem/Reuters)

CCTV footage from a nearby home showed the concrete structure and metal scaffolding collapsing at 2.09 p.m. local time on Monday, causing a plume of dust to rise over the neighbourhood. People came streaming out of other buildings after the collapse, with some of them screaming and shouting.

Alan Winde, the premier of the Western Cape province, said there would be investigations by both the provincial government and the police.

Authorities declined to give out any information on the construction company involved but said that under city law the private company's engineers were responsible for the safety of the building site until its completion, when it would be handed over to the city to check and clear.

The national government was being briefed on the rescue operation, Winde said. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa released a statement offering his condolences to families of the victims and also called for investigations into the cause of the collapse.