by Nurat Uthman
Search and rescue crews were still working at the site of the disaster, a week after the accident in the city of George in the Western Cape province. On Monday, municipal authorities said the fatalities had topped 23.
An investigation to establish the cause of the collapse is ongoing. The country’s public works minister was due to visit the accident scene on Monday, local media reported.
On Saturday, a man was pulled from underneath the rubble, 116 hours after the accident.
The building whose construction was approved last July was meant to be a 42-unit apartment block. It came down shortly after 2:00pm local time on Monday.
Around 75 construction workers are believed to have been on site at the time of the accident.
15 people remain hospitalized and many are still missing. There have been allegations that most of the crew were foreign nationals.
The government said it would contact the diplomatic missions of Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique without confirming the claims.
