South Africa: Johannesburg building fire kills dozens

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

Some 73 bodies have been recovered from a multi-story building fire in South Africa's biggest city, as per a spokesperson. The death toll is rising rapidly.

An overnight fire in a multi-story building in Johannesburg has left dozens of people dead, Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi confirmed on Thursday. 

On the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, Mulaudzi reported that 58 bodies had been recovered while 43 others were injured.

At least one child was among the dead, Mulaudzi said. Search and rescue operations are still taking place and the death toll is expected to rise further.

Initially, 10 people were confirmed dead in the early hours of the morning. However, the number of fatalities increased rapidly as further bodies were recovered.

Multiple patients were being treated on the scene and transported to various healthcare facilities, officials said.

It was not immediately clear what started the fire.

Television footage showed fire trucks and ambulances outside the cordoned off red and white building with burned-out windows.

While the fire had been largely extinguished, smoke still seeped out of the windows of the building. Strings of sheets hung out of some of the windows, authorities said.

They were not sure if people had used those sheets to try and escape the fire or to save their possesions. 

Witnesses present at the scene said as many as 200 people might have been living in the building in a deprived area of South Africa's largest city.

The building was an "informal settlement" where homeless people took shelter without any lease agreements, according to Mulaudzi.