Watch as rescue efforts continue after building collapse in South Africa

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Watch as rescue efforts continue after six people were killed and dozens left trapped when a building under construction collapsed in South Africa.

Teams worked through the night searching for dozens of construction workers buried under the rubble of concrete after a multi-story apartment complex that was being built collapsed on Monday 6 May in the coastal city of George.

More than 100 emergency personnel and other responders were on the scene, using sniffer dogs to try to locate the workers, some of whom were feared buried under huge slabs of concrete that fell on them when the five-storey building came down.

Large cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were brought to the site to help with the rescue effort and tall spotlights were erected to allow search and rescue personnel to work through the night.

There were 75 workers on the construction site when the building collapsed, the George municipality said. It added three teams of rescuers were working at separate sites around the collapsed building where they believed construction workers were likely to be.

Authorities said early Tuesday that 49 workers remained unaccounted for in the mangled wreckage of the building, while 21 had been rescued.