At least 63 people died Thursday, August 30, in a fire that devastated a four-storey building in the center of Johannesburg, announced the city’s emergency services.
“We have found 63 bodies and we also have 43 people who have suffered minor injuries,” emergency services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi told a local television station. The injured, some of whom inhaled smoke, were taken to hospitals for treatment, he said.
The fire that broke out overnight was extinguished and firefighters were busy Thursday morning looking for other possible victims.
Disadvantaged area
“We are moving step by step” in this search, Mulaudzi said, noting that the death toll could rise.
The cause of the tragedy was not yet known. The police, on the spot, cordoned off the building.
The building, a brick-red and white edifice with scorched windows according to television footage, is located in a deprived area of ??the former business district of South Africa’s economic hub. Residents had settled there informally, according to the spokesperson.
