Cape Town — As the investigation into the tragic George building collapse continues, some families are still awaiting confirmation that their loved ones died in the collapse.
There are still 35 people waiting to be interviewed as part of the investigation into the building’s collapse that happened one month ago. However, investigators hit a hurdle as all of them have left the country, News24 reported.
At the time the search concluded, 62 people were pulled from the rubble, with the final unconfirmed death toll standing at 34. Following the collapse, multiple probes were launched by the provincial government, the police, and the Department of Employment and Labour.
Alan Winde’s spokesperson, Regan Thaw, said the investigation is ongoing and the probe will take some time to complete due to its complex nature, and he urged patience.
According to police spokesperson, Sergeant Christopher Spies, said an inquest docket was opened and that police had finished their investigation, but were still conducting interviews and collecting statements.
Meanwhile, the Department of Employment and Labour said it was difficult to estimate when the probe would be completed because they were struggling to access people to be interviewed.
“We need statements from people who have left the country, and we need to work through the relevant embassies to get access to them,” he said.
Esau added the department was considering asking investigating officers in those countries to visit the people, but it could also request that they return to South Africa.
There are many families who are struggling to come to terms with their loss. Bright Kuyani said his family was repatriated back to Malawi and buried last week.
“We are healing slowly from the loss that we’ve had in our family. It has been a very big blow,” he said.
Fellow Malawian Sydney Kanjere added he buried his brother, Paul Mwatwana, on Saturday. He said the family was still coming to terms with their loss, especially Mwatwana’s four children.
Nomthandazo Sonjani said her family was struggling to come to terms with the death of her cousin, Lunga Sillendelo. Sonjani said the family still hoped the investigation would give them some answers as to what led to the collapse.
One of the survivors, Delvin Safers, 29, said he still gets flashbacks to the day and expressed his concern that the investigation had still not been finalised. Safers added he consulted a psychologist to help him cope with the traumatic experience.
He added, while he was booked off from work to fully recover, he was hopeful he would be able to return to doing the job he loved.
“It’s been weird being at home this long. But I understand that I need to process everything and for my body to go back to being functional as I’m still in quite a lot of pain because of the concrete slabs that were on top of me,” Safers said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
