A Go Fund Me page has been established to help apartment owners at Sydney’s Mascot Towers in their efforts to have the building repaired, after it developed cracks a week ago.

The 10-year-old building in Sydney’s south had to be evacuated on 14 June when cracks developed in the primary support structure and facade masonry.

About $2,500 of a $1m target had been raised by midday on Saturday, and all donations will go towards the necessary repairs.

On Thursday night, the apartment owners had voted for a $1m special levy to fund initial works on the building, but many residents “still face an uncertain future”.

“This is only the start for us, we face massive repair costs that could reach $6m plus, with no support from our government,” fundraiser organiser Anthony Gombu wrote on the Go Fund Me page.

Another owners’ meeting is scheduled for next Thursday.

Those whose apartments fell in the non-accessible “red zone” were finally able to return and gather their belongings this weekend.

Despite that welcome news, an update from the engineers revealed that beams in the building’s basement were showing signs of increased cracking.

A previous engineers’ summary released on Thursday said it appeared the complex was “stabilising” but there was no immediate prospect of residents returning within the next month.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has vowed to hold to account whoever is responsible for the damage to the building.

She had been invited to the owners’ meeting, and some of them expressed disappointment that neither she nor any of her ministers turned up.

While empathising with the plight of residents and owners, Berejiklian said on Friday it was not her job to attend every strata meeting.

“The job of a premier is to make sure that all parties are held accountable,” she told reporters. “The government will hold everybody to account – including those who should have done their jobs better. Clearly, there’s been a failure here and those who need to be held to account will be held to account.”

Under NSW law, statutory warranties for major defects are in place for only six years.