At least 73 killed as fire guts run-down Johannesburg apartment block

JOHANNESBURG – At least 73 people were killed overnight when a fire raged through a five-storey Johannesburg apartment block, one of the worst such disasters in a city where poverty, household fires and homelessness are widespread.

The building in a run-down area was gutted, blackened by soot and still smouldering on Thursday as emergency services gathered and bodies lay covered in blankets on a nearby street.

It was owned by the municipal authorities who, 12 hours after the blaze broke out, were still unable to provide a clear picture of who had lived there. One official said some rooms may have been rented out by criminal gangs.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said he hoped an ongoing investigation into the causes of the fire would help prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.

Leo, a 25-year-old who survived the blaze, had been living on the building’s second floor. He escaped along with his mother via the stairs.

“People were just running away. It was dark and there was smoke. You couldn’t see anything,” he said.

At least one person jumped to his death, said Mr Thando le Nkosi Manzini, a student who saw the fire from the street.

“I saw a guy jumping from the fourth floor,” he told Reuters.