Update Video
GEORGE NEWS & VIDEOS - Rescue workers at the disaster site in Victoria Street are working with renewed vigour after they heard a voice from under the building debris shortly before 12 noon.
To the elation of the rescue workers, their strategy to start looking for survivors at the back of the site where there are stairs, paid off when one of the 39 people still trapped in the rubble called out.
This morning the rescuers started opening up the area at the back of the site in the hope that the stairs below would in some way have provided space and protection from the rubble ensuring more survivors.
The last person to be rescued was pulled from the pile of concrete and steel at about 01:30 this morning.
VIDEO: Signs of life at the back of the site. Rescue workers are continuing with renewed vigour. Video: Michelle Pienaar
At 14:09 today it was exactly 48 hours since the building with a basement, above ground parking and four storeys of flats under construction imploded in a cloud of dust and debris.
Since then 36 people have been retrieved, of whom seven have died. Of the 28 survivors, 16 are in a critical condition, 6 are suffering life-threatening injuries while 7 sustained minor injuries.
At the moment rescue workers have to make their way through four of five unstable concrete slabs to reach possible survivors – a dangerous task for those trapped inside and the rescuers.
The next 24 hours are crucial as the international standard of a rescue operation is three days. After that the status normally switches to a retrieval, as the chances to find survivors drastically diminishes.
Journalist Michelle Pienaar is at the scene and spoke to George Mayor Leon van Wyk about the current status of the rescue operation.
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