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Joburg inner-city fire – at least 73 dead, over 50 hurt as flames tear through hijacked building

Joburg inner-city fire – at least 73 dead, over 50 hurt as flames tear through hijacked building
At least 73 people have been killed and 50 injured in a raging fire at a five-storey hijacked building on the corner Alberts and Delvers streets in the Johannesburg city center.

The building is said to have as many as 200 people living in it. The fire is said to have broken out in the early hours, according to Robert Mulaudzi of the city’s emergency services. 

“On arrival firefighters started to evacuate all the people out of the building while conducting firefighting operations, 10 people were confirmed dead on scene and 42 people were treated on scene later transported to various healthcare facilities for further medical care. At this stage the cause of the fire incident is still a subject of investigations,” he said.    

Search-and-recovery operations are ongoing and firefighters are moving through the building to pull out possibly more dead bodies, Mulaudzi added.  




The disaster comes six weeks after a gas explosion ripped through the CBD, killing one person, leaving 48 others injured. The source of methane gas is yet to be confirmed.  

Read more in Daily Maverick: Emergency teams race to find source of Johannesburg explosion as city center remains volatile 

Officials from City of Johannesburg Disaster Management have been dispatched to start facilitating relief for affected people.  

This is a developing story. DM