Ramaphosa Pledges to Extract Victims From Collapsed Building

(Bloomberg) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the site of a collapsed building on Thursday and gave assurances that no effort would be spared to extract the victims who remained trapped beneath the rubble.

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The building, which was still under construction in the southern town of George, about 434 kilometers (270 miles) east of Cape Town, collapsed on May 10 with an estimated 81 people inside. At least 33 have since been confirmed dead, 12 have been hospitalized and 19 remain unaccounted for, with rescue work still ongoing.

‘’Compensation will be addressed once it has gone through all the various channels,” Ramaphosa said following an inspection of the disaster site. “It is too early to talk about an investigation as at the moment it is about issues of grief and supporting their loved ones.”

The cause of the building collapse has yet to be determined and it is still too early to say whether the work done on it was substandard, Alan Winde, the premier of the Western Cape province, said by phone from George.

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