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UPDATE: Death toll in Johannesburg building inferno rises to 74

Storyline:World

GOOBJOOG NEWS | JOHANNESBURG: The death toll from the building fire in the central business district of Johannesburg, South Africa has risen to 74 according to local authorities.

South African officials told journalists on Thursday afternoon that preliminary investigations revealed that the occupants of the five-story flat that caught fire had connected water and electricity illegally.

“A total of 74 people perished when the flat they were staying in caught fire and left over 200 families homeless,” said Floyd Blink, Johannesburg city manager, at a media briefing on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the Gauteng Department of Health said the 74 deaths include 40 men, 24 women, and 10 of undetermined gender.

The emergency management authorities of Johannesburg said earlier Thursday that they were informed of the fire at around 1:30 a.m. local time.

The building has been turned into an informal settlement with an estimate of more than 80 shacks, and the fire spread quickly due to the combustible materials used to partition the rooms.

  • Additional reporting by agencies