As the rescue mission continues, the true heroes of the recovery mission are emerging, says Jacaranda FM.
Over 200 personnel from different services have been working shifts in the difficult-to-navigate and unsafe rubble of the construction site in Victoria Street, where the building collapsed on Monday, 6 May.
Assisting in the mammoth effort are specially trained sniffer dogs from the SAPS K9 Search and Rescue Unit, volunteers of the K9 Search and Rescue Association of South Africa (SARA) and the Gift of the Givers K9 Unit, according to the station.
The station says on Sunday, 12 May — days after the building crumbled into a heap of metal, concrete chunks and dust — there was joy on the site: A man emerged alive after W/O Willie Visser's dog, Abbey, picked up his scent and W/O Riaan le Roux's dog Rex confirmed the find.
Gift of the Givers has been instrumental in supplying the SAPS and emergency services with dogs to assist in disaster relief, as well as other policing tasks, Jacaranda FM adds. The organisation has secured 60 K9 dogs of various breeds for the South African Police Service (SAPS) and another 50 dogs to enhance border security efforts. These dogs are all in training.
Mario Ferreira, Gift of the Givers' head representative in the Southern Cape region, has been at the disaster site in George since an hour after the collapse on Monday, 6 May. Ferreira says the teams work under very difficult conditions, but they are determined and motivated by all the support they have received.
According to Jacaranda FM, some of their K9-unit dogs are also at the scene. One of their dogs was injured when his paw was cut in the rubble. A second dog has been struggling with severe trauma.
Ferreira confirmed that dogs trained in South Africa as sniffer dogs have the unique ability to distinguish if the humans they detect are alive or not. He says this makes these dogs world leaders in their field and invaluable in a situation where time can mean the difference between life and death.
In a bid to assist the incredible humans and dogs working tirelessly on the site, Jacaranda FM's The Good Morning Angels Listener Fund has assisted the Gift of the Givers in their efforts in George and elsewhere with a donation of R100 000 to assist with whatever is needed for the rescue and recovery workers and survivors.
The fund says it will also donate an additional R100 000 towards the specialised K9 Unit and efforts of Gift of the Givers to help with training and caring for these invaluable furry team members.
"I think it's incredible how the Gift Of The Givers come to the rescue — literally, especially when it comes to these specially trained dogs used in the rescue efforts in the George building collapse tragedy. I didn't know that they have gifted the SAPS K9 unit more than 100 of these specially trained dogs that are world-class and, on top of that, assist victims and their families," says Jacaranda FM's Martin Bester.
"This story has captured the attention of all South Africans and, watching from afar, we ask ourselves how we can help. At Jacaranda FM, we believe that we can do a world of good by using our Good Morning Angels Fund to able and assist the Gift of The Givers in their efforts," adds Bester.
"A huge thank you to every person who supports our fundraising efforts and every single person who reached out and asked us to get involved and support those on the ground. We hope for the best and for more miracles, and we are proud to support Gift Of The Givers, all the emergency personnel on the scene, the dogs, their handlers and everybody on the scene of this devastating tragedy in George," says Bester.
"My gratitude goes out to every single person who supports Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels initiative. We are doing this on your behalf," Bester concludes.
Individuals can listen to Good Morning Angels every Wednesday morning on Jacaranda FM's Breakfast With Martin Bester.
For more information, visit www.jacarandafm.com. You can also follow Jacaranda FM on Facebook, X, Instagram or TikTok.
*Image courtesy of contributor