NINE people — including an infant — were burnt to death when a fire broke out in an abandoned building in the Johannesburg central business district (CBD).
The building, which has been filled with around 100 shacks, caught fire in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Nana Radebe said they were alerted to the blaze at 4am.
Radebe said the shacks were situated on the top floor of the building.
“The fire started at the ground level. We are investigating to determine what caused the fire.”
About 20 people were rushed to hospital after suffering burn wounds while others broke their legs when jumping from the building, Radebe said.
The fire has since been extinguished
Watch the video below
Firefighters are still on scene of a fire that destroyed multiple shacks inside a 5-story Kaserne parking garage near Kwa Mai Mai. Sadly 9 people, including an infant, died in the blaze that started this morning. 20 patients were treated on scene & rushed to hospital for burns pic.twitter.com/Vvij1hUM2k
— City of Joburg EMS (@CityofJoburgEMS) April 14, 2021
Nine people have died have died after 100+ shacks caught fire in Downtown Johannesburg. Among the deceased is an infant #Sabcnews pic.twitter.com/2YRvj8KBOR
— mahlako steph komane (@saneliswak) April 14, 2021
