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JOHANNESBURG. – The death toll from a fire that engulfed a five-storey building yesterday morning in the central Marshalltown neighbourhood, Johannesburg, South Africa has risen to at least 74.
At least 12 children were among those killed by the flames, the youngest under two years old, while 24 were women. Some were left burned beyond recognition.
Johannesburg emergency services in an update said 52 people were also injured and have been “transported to various healthcare facilities for further medical care”.
The building in the Marshalltown neighbourhood was being used as ‘informal’ housing for some 200 homeless people according to the city’s authorities.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the incident as “a great tragedy, felt by families whose loved ones perished in this terrible manner”.
As Mr Ramaphosa visited the site last night, cries of despair from relatives of the victims filled the air.
Talking to journalists, he praised the work of the firefighters and said the actions taken by the authorities were “in line with what we expect”.
The president said that those who lost their homes will be catered for – from accommodation to trauma counselling to medical needs.
He said it was a “wake-up call for us” to address the issue of housing in the inner city. He said he wanted officials to find solutions and better ways of dealing with these issues.
“We have to address this problem and root out those criminal elements” who take advantage of vulnerable people.
“Poor people need to live in the city, but there needs to be law and order,” he said.
“When a building is condemned, we go through too many processes that can lead to this type of situation,” he added.
The city of Johannesburg confirmed in a news conference that it owned the building, but said cartels had taken it over.
Firefighters were first alerted to the fire at 1:19am, and the first responders were on site 10 minutes later, City manager Floyd Brink says.
A number of emergency resources, including two fire engines and 43 firefighters were deployed soon after, he said..
“So we are moving up towards the building, as I said earlier, we will be moving floor by floor to make sure that we clear all the floors. And then from there, as soon as that we are done, we hand over the scene to South African police to continue with their work” Robert Mulaudzi, Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson said.
Some of the people living in the building were reported to have thrown themselves out of windows to escape the blaze. Seven of the victims were children and the youngest was a 1-year-old, according to Mulaudzi.
“What do we need to highlight to our viewers at home is that they must just have a picture of an informal settlement inside a building So therefore, the chances of one being trapped inside that building is very much higher because of, you know, the partitions and all the things they’re using to create those structures” said Mulaudzi.
A video posted by Mulaudzi to the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showed fire trucks and ambulances outside the building with burnt-out windows.
Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has said temporary accommodation is being provided to survivors of the deadly fire – but this will end after 72 hours.
“After 72 hours the Human Settlements department will advise on where they will be taken,” Gwamanda said in a statement, adding that there were logistical and verification issues at play.
There are currently three sites providing temporary housing to the approximately 200 families affected.
Photos from the scene showed covered bodies lined up near the burned building.
One woman told journalists she was outside the building searching for her 24-year-old daughter.
“As soon as I heard the building was burning down, I knew I had to run here to come and look for her,” she said.
“Now that I’m here, I’m kept in suspense because I really don’t know what is happening. I don’t get any direction – so I’m actually very anxious, I don’t know if my daughter is alive.”
Johannesburg officials initially suggested the building had been occupied by squatters, but Lebogang Isaac Maile, the head of the Human Settlements department for Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, said some of those who died may have been renting from, or were being extorted by, criminal gangs.
“There are cartels who prey on who are vulnerable people. Because some of these buildings, if not most of them, are actually in the hands of those cartels who collect rental from the people,” he told reporters.
City Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda told reporters the municipality had leased it to a charity for displaced women but that it had “ended up serving a different purpose”. He did not give details.
Gwamanda has said temporary accommodation is being provided to survivors of the deadly fire – but this will end after 72 hours.
“After 72 hours the Human Settlements department will advise on where they will be taken,” Gwamanda said in a statement, adding that there were logistical and verification issues at play.
An estimated 200 people were living apparently illegally in the abandoned five-storey building, with one resident saying many of them were foreigners.
Residents spoke of their difficulty in escaping the blaze and those that managed to escape said they were glad to be alive.
“It was so difficult for us to get out, others had blocked the corridors with beds, but I managed to get out with my kids, one who is 13 years and the other almost 3. We did inhale quite a lot of smoke, but at least we managed to get out. What is very sad is others died inside,” said resident Nobuhle Zwane.
Bodies were discovered piled up at a security gate that was closed preventing people escaping the blaze, an official said.
“There was a lot of us running, trying to find the fire exit and a lot of people eventually died because of the smoke inhalation,” said Kenny Bupe, a survivor caught up in the blaze while visiting a friend. – Agencies
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