APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) At least 70 people died on Thursday morning when a fire gutted an apartment building in South Africa’s commercial hub Johannesburg, according to emergency services.
City of Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said more than 40 others were also injured when the five-storey building in the central business district caught fire just after 1am (2300 GMT) on Thursday.
“Latest update 63 bodies recovered and 43 injured still continuing with search and recovery operation,” Mulaudzi said in an update around 9am.
Most of those injured had suffered smoke inhalation, while others were sustained cuts as they tried to escape from the building.
He said the fire had been contained and that they were busy with “damping down” as well as search and recovery operations.
“At this stage the cause of the fire incident is still a subject of investigations,” Mulaudzi said in a statement, adding that “officials from City of Johannesburg Disaster Management have been activated to start facilitating relief for affected families.”
JN/APA