After several hours, the survivor was freed and rushed to a hospital. (File)
Johannesburg, South Africa:
Rescuers and spectators cheered and applauded on Saturday as a survivor was rescued after 116 hours beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in South Africa, with the tragedy killing at least 13 people.
“It’s a miracle we’ve all been waiting for,” Provincial Premier Alan Winde said on X.
An apartment block under construction in the southern city of George collapsed on Monday afternoon while a team of 81 people were at the scene.
“As we went down to the side of the slab that we had discovered, we heard someone inside and stopped all heavy operations,” Colin Deiner, head of rescue operations, told reporters.
Rescuers then called the survivor and he responded, Deiner said.
“He indicated to us that he has heaviness in his legs and we are very worried about that after so long.”
After several hours, the survivor was freed and rushed to a hospital.
Rescue teams have been working around the clock since the structure collapsed.
Twenty-nine people were rescued alive, while thirty-nine remained missing.
Winde said a “difficult” identification process was underway and that police were using fingerprints, DNA tests and photographs.
Plans to build a 42-unit apartment block were approved by the city in July.
The reasons for the collapse are still unknown.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
