South African authorities said that 70 people were in or near the building when it collapsed on May 6, 2024. / Photo: George Municipality      

A multi-storey building under construction in South Africa's coastal city of George collapsed on Monday trapping about 48 workers in the rubble, the city hall said.

Seventy people were on the site at the time of the collapse, of which 22 have been taken to hospital, a city spokesperson said.

Mario Ferreira, spokesperson for the charity Gift of the Givers, assisting at the site, told AFP that rescue workers had "communication with some of the people under the rubble."

It was still unclear what caused the building, with an underground parking lot, to fall in the early afternoon.

Rescue operations ongoing

Photographs shared by the municipality showed a flattened construction site with multiple rescue services present.

"There have been people taken out, seriously injured. At this stage we haven't got any fatalities yet," Ferreira said.

Rescue operations continued into the evening at the site.

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AFP