<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Rescuers and onlookers cheered and applauded today as a survivor was rescued after 116 hours from underneath the rubble of a collapsed building in South Africa, with the tragedy having killed at least 13.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It is a miracle that we have all been hoping for”, provincial premier Alan Winde said on X.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An apartment block under construction in the southern city of George crumbled Monday afternoon while a crew of 81 were on site.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“When we went down to the side of the slab we had uncovered, we heard somebody inside and we stopped all the heavy operations,” Colin Deiner, head of rescue operations, told reporters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rescuers then called out to the survivor and he spoke back, Deiner said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“He indicated to us that he’s got weight on his legs, and we’re very concerned about that after such a long period of time.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After several hours, the survivor was extricated and rushed to a hospital.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rescue teams have been working against time ever since the structure came crashing down.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty-nine people have been rescued alive while thirty-nine remained unaccounted for.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Winde said a “difficult” identification process was underway and that police were using fingerprints, DNA testing and photographs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Construction plans for a 42-unit apartment block had been approved by the city in July. The reasons for the collapse are still unknown. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>