South Africa: Man rescued from collapsed building after 5 days

Rescue workers in South Africa successfully pulled a man from a collapsed building after being under the rubble for five days. Per The Associated Press , officials in a statement said 81 people were on the five-story property in George, Western Cape, when it collapsed on May 6.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the man’s rescue was “nothing short of a miracle.” Officials have so far confirmed 13 people dead , adding that 29 survived while 39 are yet to be accounted for.

Winde in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said the man rescued had been trapped under the rubble for 116 hours. Rescuers at the collapsed building have been using cranes, drills and their bare hands to pull out people still trapped under the rubble.

“Despite the introduction of large machinery, rescue techniques will still be applied meticulously and sensitively by the highly skilled and experienced disaster management team,” the city said in an initial statement.

Authorities also said they have launched an investigation into the building collapse.

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