Verulam – Rescue operations entered a critical third day on Sunday as specialized teams worked to locate and extract a fifth individual trapped deep within the rubble of a collapsed temple.
The search, which resumed at 8 a.m., is focused on a specific area where the victim has been identified. According to Samantha Meyrick of IPSS Medical Rescue, who was on scene Saturday, the trapped individual is positioned significantly further down in the debris pile, complicating access for rescue workers.
In a poignant development, authorities have confirmed the identity of the missing man. Spokespersons from Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), the first responders to the Friday collapse, revealed that the victim is the father of one of their own team members. The man was working as an electrician on the temple site at the time of the incident.
A RUSA spokesperson provided a heartbreaking detail: the trapped man’s son, a RUSA member himself, was among the very first to arrive at the emergency. “It is so devastating to hear how he, in his line of work over some time, has saved so many lives, but he could not save his own father’s,” the spokesperson said.
Under currently favorable weather conditions, teams were seen assembling and mapping their strategy early Sunday morning near the site. Officials expressed hope that the weather would hold, as further rain could disrupt the delicate operation.
The rescue effort, involving IPSS Medical Rescue and Reaction Unit South Africa, continues as crews work methodically to reach the electrician, with his son and colleagues awaiting news just meters away.