Five killed, 49 missing as multi-storey building collapses in South Africa

George [South Africa], May 7 : Five people were killed and 49 others remained missing after a multi-storey building collapsed in the South African city of George, reported CNN, citing officials.

The building collapsed on Monday, following which rescue missions are underway.

Around 26 people have been rescued since the building collapsed in the Western Cape province around 2 pm local time (8 a.m. ET) on Monday, George Municipality said in a statement.

"Three teams of rescue personnel are currently working on three different areas within the site of the collapsed building," the statement said, reported CNN.

Following the incident, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences in a statement.

"The President's thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones as well as the families of close to 50 people who are trapped in the rubble," Ramaphosa said in a statement from his office on Tuesday.

Moreover, Ramaphosa called for an investigation into how the incident happened, to "bring closure to the community and prevent a repeat of this disaster." the statement said.

More details awaited.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor