As at the time of filing this report, about 63 people have been confirmed dead, leaving 43 persons injured on Thursday, August 31 after a fire broke out in the central business district of South Africa’s biggest city, Johannesburg.
The the municipal government had confirmed this.
“Search and rescue efforts are presently ongoing,” the city administration had posted on the social media platform X, formerly called Twitter.
“The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services have confirmed that the number of fatalities has escalated to about 63.” The city administration had added.
Firefighters and emergency vehicles had been spotted at the scene, while the dead bodies lay covered in emergency blankets on a street near the site of the early morning inferno, according to photos released by Reuters reporters.
Reports had also revealed that the fire engulfed a five-storey building that had been deserted at a point but had recently had people living in it as at the time of the fire outbreak. The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed, as at the time of making this report.
