President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the disaster site in Victoria Street, George this afternoon where he met with rescue workers and paid his respects to the victims who died where a partially built building collapsed killing at least 33 people with 19 still unaccounted for.

Ramaphosa was enthusiastically welcomed and cheered on by onlookers who watched from the pavements and areas in front of the George Civic Centre. He took a moment to greet and thank the rescue workers.

A media frenzy broke out as reporters and photographers elbowed through the crowd to get close to the president. Ramaphosa was accompanied by his bodyguards, the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, and various national and provincial ministers.

Following the site visit, he addressed the family members of those involved killed and injured in the city hall and expressed his sympathy to those who lost loved ones.

Ramaphosa pleaded for patience until the process is completed to find out exactly what went wrong on Monday, May 6, at the Neo Victoria apartment building.

“I am filled with sadness, but at the same time I want to give you the assurance that we will handle it as we should.”

He thanked the representatives of governments, his ministers, premier, and all involved in the operations on site for the way they handled the situation. “May God be with you and continue to put his hands on your shoulder. I am satisfied that in SA we know how to deal with disasters.”

He said that the disaster is a wake-up call and that we must ensure that this never happens again. “There are many lessons to be learned from what has happened.”

The presidential visit ended with a wreath laying for the deceased at the civic centre.