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01-09-2023
JOHANNESBURG: A massive fire in a tower block in Johannesburg has killed at least 73 people, including seven children, the youngest aged just one, emergency services in South Africa have said.
Emergency Management Services said another 43 people were injured in the blaze, which broke out in the predawn hours today.
Spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said a search and recovery operation was underway, and it was likely the death toll would rise.
Authorities said the fire had been largely extinguished, but smoke still seeped out of windows of the blackened building in a downtown area of the city.
The cause of the devastating fire has yet to be established, but local media is reporting it happened in what was described as a “hijacked” inner city building.
Footage showed large numbers of emergency vehicles in the street shows a heavy presence of emergency vehicles as locals flood past.
Some of the people living in the building in South Africa’s biggest city threw themselves out of windows to escape the blaze and might have died because of that, a local government official said. Seven of the victims were children, the youngest a 1-year-old, according to Robert Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (COJEMS).
A search and recovery operation was underway, and it was likely the death toll would rise, he added.
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika at the scene, Maluadzi said: “It is a very unfortunate situation which we had to respond to this morning at around 1.30am.
“We were called to this five-storey building at the corner of Alberts and Delvers Street which is one of those hijacked buildings, abandoned buildings in the inner city.
“We started evacuating people inside the building, while conducting firefighting operations.
“In the process, we managed to recover about 20 bodies and about 43 people were treated for smoke inhalation and also some various injuries.
“Over 20 years in the service, I’ve never come across something like this. (Int’l News Desk)
