South Africa: Death toll in fire at Johannesburg building rises to 73
Aug 31, 2023
Johannesburg [South Africa], August 31 : The death toll in the fire incident in a five-story building in Johannesburg has risen to 73, CNN reported on Thursday citing local authorities.
The fire tore through the building in early hours of Thursday, which housed hundreds of informal settlements.
In addition to the dead, more than 50 other people were injured, CNN reported citing Robert Mulaudzi, a spokesperson for the city’s emergency services.
The fire has now been extinguished, rescue officials said.
The authorities have stated that they have searched the building floor by floor, searching for survivors and pulling out charred bodies and laying them on the streets.
Children are believed to be among the deceased, CNN reported citing local media.
The videos from the spot of the incident showed huge orange flames engulfing the lower floor of a building and scores of people standing outside.
Photos from Thursday morning showed onlookers crowding around burnt-out and cordoned-off areas, broken glass windows, and clothes strewn around the building, CNN reported.
The cause of the blaze remains unclear but authorities have given no indication it was deliberate. The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. (local time), when many people inside the building were asleep, according to CNN.
It took place in a “hijacked” building in central Johannesburg, Mulaudzi said, referring to what he said were “hundreds” of settlements inside.
Earlier in the day, the spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, Robert Mulaudzi, posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Latest update 58 bodies recovered and 43 injured still continuing with search and recovery operation."
"Multiple patients treated on scene transported to various health care facilities for further medical care," Mulaudzi informed further in his post.
Meanwhile, “Hijacked” buildings, seen in many parts of downtown Johannesburg, refer to buildings abandoned by landlords and taken over by gangs or other groups and leased out mostly to poor migrant. Such buildings are often condemned for lacking safety regulations, CNN reported.
South Africa has seen other devastating fires in informal settlements across the country the country in recent months, as per CNN.
