A fire raced through a five-story structure used as informal housing in central Johannesburg, killing at least 73 people and wounding dozens more.
Authorities said that they examined each floor of the building, removing charred remains and dumping them on the street as they proceeded. Children are among the probable victims, according to local media.
The fire has been extinguished, according to rescue officials.
In addition to the fatalities, over 50 others were injured, according to Robert Mulaudzi, a spokesperson for the city’s emergency services.
Wiseman Mpepa, a survivor, told CNN that he was woken by the sounds of people screaming. He busted his window to get out of the flaming building, but it was tough.
Mpepa said he tried to warn others remaining inside the building by calling for them to utilize a restricted exit. “They closed the gate,” he reported from the ground to CNN. “I had no idea what to do next.” I was sitting in my room, doing nothing.
Huge orange flames engulf the building’s lowest storey in footage taken immediately after the fire broke out, with hundreds of people waiting outside.
Photos shot Thursday morning showed a big crowd gathering around burnt out and roped off parts, smashed windows, and the contents of a building strewn about.
Officials at the scene gave no evidence that the fire was ignited on purpose, and its origins remain unexplained. Many others were asleep when the fire broke out at 1:30 a.m. local time. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa called the event a “tragedy.”
The worst fire in recent history
Mulaudzi said it occurred in the middle of Johannesburg at a “hijacked” structure with hundreds of squatters inside.
There are numerous “hijacked” buildings in Johannesburg’s core business area. These are properties that have been abandoned by landlords but have been taken over by gangs or other groups, who subsequently rent them out to low-income South Africans and immigrants.
Mpepa’s brother, sister, and brother-in-law were all in the same building at the same moment. Mpepa has said that he is unaware of their location. “I don’t have any plans because I lost everything,” he stated.
Mpepa told CNN that he passed out due to the smoke and had no recollection of leaving the building. “The smoke was getting closer, and I just collapsed.” I have no clue what will happen after that.
Another witness, Kenny Bupe, said that the fire escape was shut and that many people died in the smoke.
“There was a lot of people, you know, a lot of people, smoke… people suffocated, a lot of people died because of the smoke,” he told Reuters.
Omar Foart, a Malawian who escaped the fire, regretted the loss of his sister and all he had.
My sister died when I was little. He told Reuters that he abandoned his personal stuff inside the burning building to spare his own life after losing three sisters.
“My sister left her little daughter, and my in-law hit the window and threw the daughter outside, and the people (on the ground) caught her while she was hot in the air,” he said.
This kind of home often fails to even the most basic of safety regulations. Local authorities on the scene compared the construction to an informal town, with each apartment having many sleeping chambers since it was initially built to accommodate just two or three people.
So-called “hijacked buildings” have been condemned in South Africa, and attempts have been made to act against them. Some South Africans believe that the government is doing insufficient to solve the problem.
Although the fire on Thursday was the worst in recent memory, South Africa has seen other fatal fires in informal settlements around the country in recent months.
Herman Mashaba, former mayor of Johannesburg and current member of parliament and leader of the ActionSA political party, called the fire casualties “devastating” and “totally unnecessary.”
The presence of stolen buildings is “with the full knowledge of our national government,” Mashaba said on Thursday. “In fact, some of them are involved in illegal activities,” he said.
“They make life difficult for the building’s owner, to the point where people simply abandon the property,” he said.
“Obviously because they are bullies, they start charging rent out themselves and they connect illegally to the city’s services… without paying anything,” he stated after taking control.
