A South African man was rescued after being buried under rubble for 116 hours
A building under construction collapsed on the 6th in George Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa, killing at least 13 people so far. A man was buried under the rubble for 116 hours and was successfully rescued on the 11th.
According to a local government announcement, the building under construction collapsed on the afternoon of the 6th. There were 81 people on site at the time, and rescue operations were launched immediately. As of the 11th, 13 people had been confirmed dead, 29 people had been rescued, and 39 people were missing.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said that the police are currently using fingerprints, DNA technology and photos to carry out identification work, which is not easy.
The recently rescued man is Gabriel Guambe, 32 years old and a construction worker. Agence France-Presse quoted Colin Dana, the head of the rescue operation, as saying that the rescuers lifted up the thick boards and heard groans coming from the rubble. They stopped and shouted a few times and received a response.
"He told us his legs were pinned down by something and we were very concerned because it had been so long," Dana said.
After hours of hard work, rescuers finally rescued Gu Anbei. He suffered "only minor injuries", was recovering well and was "in good spirits," local authorities said in a statement.
In a video released by the local government, Guambe said: "I am fine now, everything is fine. Thank you."
The construction plan for the collapsed building was approved in July last year. The cause of the accident is currently unclear.
![A South African man was rescued after being buried under rubble for 116 hours](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/e9b44c6d232dbb065b33deb42e3d3094.webp)