A fire in a five-story building in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital, left at least 52 people dead, city officials said.
(Bloomberg) — A fire in a five-story building in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital, left at least 52 people dead, city officials said.
The blaze in the illegally occupied building, which erupted in the central business district overnight, also left 43 people injured, the municipality said in a statement on Thursday. Multiple people are being treated at the scene, it said.
“We have recovered 52 bodies and 43 people who were injured have been transported to various healthcare facilities,” Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika. “There are possibilities of more fatalities.”
The cause of the fire is unknown, the Johannesburg EMS said in an earlier statement.
Search and rescue operations are under way and police will begin their investigations once the emergency services complete their work in the area.
The fire comes a month after a gas explosion left one person dead, and several others injured, while also causing damage to infrastructure in the inner city.
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