CAPE TOWN - Rescuers in South Africa said yesterday they had made contact with 11 people trapped in the rubble of a building under construction that collapsed in the coastal city of George, killing five and leaving around 50 missing. City authorities say a construction crew of 75 people was at the site when the five-storey building collapsed on Monday for still- undetermined reasons.

“We are in contact with 11 people; four of them are trapped in a basement,” Colin Deiner, chief director for disaster management, told a news conference. The rescuers’ priority is to get all those still trapped out, which could take much of the day, he added.

They will then begin a process of lifting the different floors off each other, he said. “There is a possibility people could still be alive,” Deiner said.

The work is expected to continue until the weekend, he added. Twenty-six people have been rescued from the debris, five of whom have died, municipal authorities have previously said, adding that 49 others were still unaccounted for. - Nampa/AFP