Johannesburg fire – latest: Babies among 73 killed in one of the worst blazes in South Africa’s history

At least 73 people, including a one-year-old baby, have died in a devastating blaze that broke out inside a five-storey building in central Johannesburg on Thursday morning.

Some of the people living in a maze of shacks and other makeshift structures inside the building threw themselves out of windows to escape the fire – one of the worst in South Africa’s history.

Reports suggest as many as 200 people lived in the building, which was an “informal settlement” housing homeless people while they looked for permanent accommodation.

Officials on Thursday said some of the victims may have been renting rooms in the building from criminal gangs.

Seven of the victims were children, including the one-year-old, according to an emergency services spokesperson.

Around 52 people have been injured in the fire in Marshalltown as videos captured at the scene show raging flames consuming the lower level of the building.

A search-and-recovery operation is underway as authorities said they were expecting the death toll to rise.

Key Points

• At least 73 dead in Johannesburg fire

• Footage shows deadly fire raging at Johannesburg multi-storey building

• Fire-hit building was homeless shelter housing more than 200

• Trauma for families as they search for their relatives

• One child among the dead

‘Vulnerable’ fire victims may have rented building rooms from criminal gangs

12:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda told reporters the building that was devastated by a huge fire on Thursday was owned by the municipal authorities and had been leased to charity for displaced women but had “ended up serving a different purpose,” without giving further details.

Lebogang Isaac Maile, the head of the Human Settlements department for Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, later said some of the victims may have been renting from criminal gangs illegally collecting fees.

“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 at the scene.

At least 73 people were killed in the fire and officials said the death toll could rise, as the search for more bodies continues.

‘I don’t know what happened to my brother’

11:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

A young girl, who is still searching for her brother in the aftermath of the Johannesburg building fire, told a local newspaper she’s scared because she doesn’t know what happened to him.

Jiya Mcreen told South African newspaperTimesLIVE her brother lived in the building with three other friends but her brother’s phone has been switched off since this morning and she can’t reach him.

“I am scared, I’m feeling fear. I don’t know what happened to my brother.”

What we know so far about the devastating fire that killed 73

10:58 , Maanya Sachdeva

If you’re just joining our coverage of the devastating building fire that erupted in Johannesburg early Thursday morning, here’s everything we know so far:

At least 73 dead in fire at multi-storey building in Johannesburg

Photos show firefighters working to extinguish deadly building blaze

10:41 , Maanya Sachdeva

Photographs coming in from the scene of the deadly building fire that killed at least 73 people in Johannesburg show people gathering to watch rescue efforts as firefighters tried to bring the blaze under control.

Seven of 73 known victims are children

10:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

Some of the people may have died after they threw themselves out of windows to escape the deadly blaze, a local government official said.

Seven of the 73 known victims were children, the youngest a one-year-old, according to an emergency services spokesperson.

Another 52 people were injured in the blaze in Johannesburg, which broke out in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, Emergency Management Services said.

As many as 200 people may have been living in the building, witnesses said.

‘We’re dying in here'

10:19 , Maanya Sachdeva

A nighttime fire ripped through a rundown five-story building in Johannesburg that was occupied by homeless people and squatters, killing at least 73 people early Thursday.

A witness who didn’t give his name told television news channel eNCA that he lived in a building next door and heard people screaming for help and shouting “We’re dying in here” when the fire started.

Mgcini Tshwaku, a local government official, said there were indications that people lit fires inside the building to keep warm in the winter cold.

Officials are looking into the cause of the blaze.

Watch: Mother searches for daughter as multiple fatalities in Johannesburg fire

10:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A video captures a mother searching for her daughter after a devastating fire broke out in a building in Johannesburg this morning.

Watch live: Aftermath of deadly Johannesburg fire as at least 73 people killed

09:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Watch live as firefighters gather in the aftermath of deadly fire in Johannesburg that killed at least 73 people on Thursday 31 August.

The blaze broke out inside a five-storey building in central Johannesburg on Thursday morning.

Watch live: Aftermath of deadly Johannesburg fire as at least 60 people killed

At least 73 dead in Johannesburg fire

09:32 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The death toll from the Johannesburg building fire has now risen to 73, state broadcaster SABC has reported.

The search and recovery operation continues.

Death toll rises to 64, state broadcaster reports

08:56 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The death toll in the Johannesburg building fire has risen to 64, according to the city’s emergency services.

More bodies are expected to be discovered as the search and rescue operation continues to progress, according to state broadcaster SABC.

‘We saw some people throwing themselves out of the building’

08:43 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Sibusiso Dladla, a woman who lives opposite the gutted building in Marshalltown told local media that she was woken up at about 2am by screams of people trying to escape fire.

She was quoted as saying by Times Live: “We heard screams and saw some people were throwing themselves out the building.“They tried to rescue their children through the windows.

“Then they started to come downstairs and they were all crying.”

Another unidentified resident was quoted as saying: “I just heard people screaming ‘we are dying’ but I thought maybe I was dreaming.”

Bodies covered in blankets and sheets seen at the scene of fire

08:32 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Bodies covered in blankets and sheets could be found in Johannesburg’s Marshalltown outside the building that caught fire and killed more than 60 people on Thursday.

Authorities say the death toll from the fire could rise and that chances of finding anyone alive inside are “very slim”.

In Pictures: Johannesburg multi-storey building fire that killed more than 60

08:27 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Watch: Footage shows deadly fire raging at Johannesburg multi-storey building

08:19 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A fire burning at a multi-storey building in Johannesburg on Thursday (31 August) has killed more than 60 people, city officials have said.

Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said 63 bodies had been recovered and 43 people had been injured, with search and recovery operations continuing on Thursday morning at the block on the corner of Delvers and Alberts street in Marshalltown.

The building’s occupants were evacuated when firefighters arrived on the scene, according to officials.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.

Footage shows deadly fire raging at Johannesburg multi-storey building

Chances of finding anyone alive ‘slim’

08:14 , Maroosha Muzaffar

City of Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi warned people looking for their loved ones that the chances of finding anyone alive in the building are “very slim”.

He told the media on Thursday: “Over 20 years in the service, I’ve never come across something like this.”At least 63 people have died after a fire broke out in a five-story building in central Johannesburg on Thursday morning.

According to South Africa’s public broadcaster SABC, emergency services were swiftly mobilised, with firefighters currently engaged in efforts to extinguish the raging blaze.

Trauma for families as they search for their relatives

08:02 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The mother of a 24-year-old victim Matshidiso Zanele was distraught on Thursday morning as she searched for her daughter who lived in the building that was gutted in a fire earlier.

Treasurelee Shuping was quoted as saying by South Africa’s Times Live: “I’m looking for her, she stayed in the building for over a year now. As soon as I heard the building was on fire I knew I had to run here.

“Now I’m kept in suspense because I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t get any direction. People are being evacuated and the death toll is rising.

“I’m very anxious, I don’t know if my daughter is alive,” Ms Shuping said.

Third fire to strike Johannesburg in as many months

07:59 , Maroosha Muzaffar

This incident marks the third time a fire broke out in one of the city’s older buildings in as many months.

In June, a fire in Hillbrow claimed the lives of two young children, while earlier this month, a blaze engulfed the top floor of a building in the nearby area of Yeoville.

Alongside these fires, in July there was an underground gas explosion in Johannesburg city centre on Lilian Ngoyi Street, previously known as Bree Street.

A fire broke out in a multi-storey building in Johannesburg’s city centre early on Thursday morning, killing at least 63 and injuring dozens.

'We managed to evacuate people who were inside the building’, says emergency services chief

07:49 , Maroosha Muzaffar

City of Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said firefighters were alerted to the fire in a building on the corner of Delvers and Alberts streets at about 1.30am local time.

“It’s a five-storey building which caught fire in the early hours of this morning. We managed to evacuate the people who were inside the building as soon as we arrived while we were conducting firefighting operations.”

At this stage, the cause of the fire is still unknown.“

Officials from City of Johannesburg disaster management have been activated to start facilitating relief for affected families,” Mr Mulaudzi said.

Fire-hit building was homeless shelter housing more than 200

07:36 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The building consumed by fire in Johannesburg on Thursday was an “informal settlement” housing homeless people while they looked for permanent accommodation.

Reports suggest as many as 200 people lived in the building that was engulfed in flames this morning, killing more than 50.

South African emergency services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said the building’s status as a homeless shelter had made it harder to account for those killed and missing, as those living there were doing so without formal lease agreements.

Video captures horrifying scenes at building engulfed in flames

07:33 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Videos captured at the scene showed huge flames consuming the lower level of the building and several emergency service vehicles outside scanning the damage.

The videos also showed several ambulances at the site of the fire.

Watch: Footage shows deadly fire raging at Johannesburg multi-storey building

07:28 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A fire burning at a multi-storey building in Johannesburg on Thursday (31 August) has killed more than 50 people, city officials have said.

Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said 58 bodies had been recovered and 43 people had been injured, with search and recovery operations continuing on Thursday morning at the block on the corner of Delvers and Alberts street in Marshalltown.

The building’s occupants were evacuated when firefighters arrived on scene, according to officials.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.

Footage shows deadly fire raging at Johannesburg multi-storey building

One child among the dead

07:21 , Maroosha Muzaffar

South African emergency services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said at least one child was among the dead as the search-and-recovery operation were under way.

Local media reported that the fire has been mostly brought under control but wisps of smoke continue to emanate from the windows of the charred structure.

What we know so far

07:14 , Maroosha Muzaffar

At least 52 people have died after a fire broke out in a five-story building in central Johannesburg on Thursday morning.

According to South Africa’s public broadcaster SABC, emergency services were swiftly mobilised, with firefighters currently engaged in efforts to extinguish the raging blaze.

More than 40 others have been injured in the fire in the city’s central business district.

Videos captured at the scene showed huge flames consuming the lower level of the building.

Authorities said that a search-and-recovery operation was underway and that they were expecting the death toll to rise.

Authorities said the fire had been largely extinguished but smoke still seeped out of windows of the blackened building in downtown Johannesburg.

07:11 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Welcome to The Independent’s live blog on the fire at a multi-storey building in Johannesburg, South Africa.