Cele urges George families to be patient as probe continues

Police minister Bheki Cele has asked for space from affected families as investigations into the collapse of the building in George, Western Cape, continue.

Cele was speaking to the families at the George Town Hall on Sunday.

This while search and rescue operations continues. By 3pm on Sunday, the death toll had climbed to 19.

"The main focus now is to get people out of the rubble. Allow us to go ahead with those investigations and we will give what would have been found out of those investigations.

"So, any kind of preempting what might have happened would be wrong, maybe other people can talk about that but from the South African police law enforcement ... that is one thing we cannot do," said Cele.

"It's always good to talk and to let you know about the matters that were found from the investigations, so we will ask for space from you as painful as it is; we know you have been waiting anxiously but we will ask for space from you as we deal with those who have suffered – either hospitalised, either they are no more or those that have not been found, and that will be our first priority.

"The second prize is for you to know what happened but I must say from our side, from SAPS, the investigations have started and that is all we can really say.".

The George municipality said: "Seven days into the rescue and recovery, 48 people have been rescued and recovered, with 19 dead, 14 currently hospitalised and 33 unaccounted for.

"The Joint District Operations Centre adheres to a stringent double verification protocol to ensure the accuracy of the reported numbers. This is done in close collaboration with recovery teams, hospitals and forensic services."