The Great Fire in South Africa

 

Picture from the fire in Johannesburg. AP  

 

The Great Fire in South Africa  

Fire in residential building in South Africa – 70 dead  

 

At least 70 people have died in a fire in a five-storey building in central Johannesburg in South Africa during the night, reports AFP. 

 

- There are several dead, including a small child who may be between one and two years old, says Robert Mulaudzi, spokesperson for the emergency services in Johannesburg, to The Times Live.  

 

Around 50 people are said to have been injured in the fire which broke out at half past two.  

 

Several have received treatment Emergency services vehicles near the house where the big fire broke out in Johannesburg, South Africa. AP  

 

Migrants and homeless people were forced to escape through windows  

 

The residents of the building destroyed in the great fire in Johannesburg were predominantly undocumented immigrants and homeless, reports the BBC. The building is located in an inner-city neighborhood that is neglected and in an area that was once the business district of South Africa's economic hub. The area is now known to have several houses occupied by undocumented immigrants. 

 

Several of the residents of the house were forced to jump out of the windows when the fire started, several of whom may have died as a result of the injuries they sustained from the fall, according to local authorities. So far, 73 people have died, of which at least seven must be children. 

 

It is still unclear what caused the fire.  

 

 

Local residents watch the rescue operation in Johannesburg. Jerome Delay / AP  

 

Babies were thrown out of the inferno: "Don't know which morgue my child is in"  

 

At least seven of the 73 dead in the fire in Johannesburg in South Africa this morning were children, reports AFP. Witnesses say that desperate parents threw their babies into the street in the hope that they would survive. 

 

- People caught babies, and mattresses were put out, says Mac Katlego, who lives across the street.  

 

Sphiwe Ngcobo's two children, aged five and two, were in the building when the fire broke out. She stood outside the house and tells the BBC about what happened quickly. When she discovered the fire and ran to the front door, the flames were already blocking the entrance.  

 

The five-year-old has been taken to hospital, the younger child has probably not survived. 

 

- I don't know what to do [...] I don't know which hospital my child is in, and I don't know which morgue my other child is in. So I'm waiting here for information.  

 

The five-story building, like many other abandoned buildings in the city, was an illegal residence, home to many undocumented foreigners and relatives in South Africa. According to the authorities, it can make identification of the victims more difficult.