Photos: Blaze at Johannesburg apartment building kills 74 | Gallery News

At least 74 people have been killed when a hearth raged by way of a five-floor Johannesburg house constructing.

The constructing was gutted, blackened by soot and nonetheless smouldering on Thursday as emergency companies gathered round it and our bodies lay lined in blankets on a close-by road.

A minimum of 12 of these killed have been youngsters, the youngest a one-year-old, in line with metropolis and medical officers.

They stated at a information convention that an undetermined variety of individuals have been nonetheless lacking and plenty of our bodies recovered have been burned past recognition.

Greater than 50 individuals have been injured, six of whom have been in a critical situation within the hospital. Emergency companies officers had earlier warned that the dying toll may rise as they continued to look the scene greater than 12 hours later.

Authorities haven’t established the reason for the fireplace however Mgcini Tshwaku, an area authorities official, stated preliminary proof recommended it began with a candle.

Inhabitants used candles and fires for mild and to maintain heat within the winter chilly, he stated.