More than 70 people have died and more than 50 have been injured after a fire in South Africa's city of Johannesburg
The five-storey derelict building in the city centre was used by homeless migrants from neighbouring countries
The fire gutted the building in the early hours of Thursday morning - the search and recovery operation is continuing
Officials said bodies were piled up at a locked gate that had prevented them fleeing the burning building
Witnesses said some people had thrown themselves out of windows
The illegal occupation of disused buildings is common in Johannesburg - more than 80 shacks had been set up inside
Emma Owen
Live reporter
We're expecting a news briefing from Johannesburg's emergency services shortly.
It's scheduled for 1500 BST - but in our experience these timings can often slip.
Stay with us - we'll bring you what they say when they say it.
A Johannesburg city official has told the local TV outlet Newzroom Afrika, external that there appeared to be a gate inside the building that was closed - and so people could not get out.
Mgcini Tshwaku, a member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security, attributed the high death toll in the building to "a lot of partitions and gates in between".
“Many people wanted to get out but they could not... Many burnt bodies were actually found stashed on that gate on the bottom-level floor," he said.
Image source, @ODIRILERAM/ReutersDoreen Kumwenda said she heard people shouting about the fire outside
Doreen Kumwenda, from Malawi, has said she had to jump out of a second floor window to escape the fire.
The 26-year-old survivor told South Africa's IOL news site, external she hurt her wrist and leg when she landed. Her husband broke his leg.
Recounting the overnight horror, she said she had been alerted to the blaze when she heard people outside shouting "fire inside".
Her brother-in-law managed to carry her child to safety.
Doreen's family may be safe - but she has lost her vital identification documents.
"My passport is gone, my birth certificate is gone.
"I don’t know where I’m going to sleep today," she said.
Some South Africans have criticised what they say was the slow response of Johannesburg’s emergency services to the fire in the building, which is located only minutes away from at least two fire stations.
The City of Johannesburg released a statement, external saying the blaze started at 01:30 (00:30 BST) on Thursday.
However, the city’s emergency service providers, including firefighters, did not arrive to the site until one hour later, it added in a post on social media., external
Local reports say the firefighters took a few hours to extinguish the blaze. They say the blaze was put out by 08:00 - but smoke was still coming out of the building.
The emergency management services have not publicly commented on the issue.
Image source, ReutersJohannesburg's mayor has said the city will relocate occupants of "hijacked" buildings, and reclaim the properties and turn them into social housing.
Kabelo Gwamanda said the operation could not be called an eviction - but a humane relocation of those living there, who would be offered alternative housing.
“We are not going there with brute force. We are trying to apply a sensitive strategy,” Gwamanda told journalists during a visit to the scene of Thursday's deadly fire.
He added that he had already set up a committee to oversee the operations - part of a bigger plan to redevelop Johannesburg’s inner city.
The mayor admitted that the eviction of squatters and homeless people had been challenging in the past as many of them preferred such dilapidated buildings over Johannesburg’s shelters, which he said were operational.
The City of Johannesburg's Group Forensic and Investigation Services said in 2022, external that it was handling 1,772 cases of "hijacked" buildings - but it had returned 47 properties to their owners.
Former mayor Herman Mashaba was criticised by some South Africans as xenophobic for pushing for evictions of undocumented immigrants from "hijacked" buildings.
Some NGOs like the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) have repeatedly blocked evictions through legal action against the city.
Some city officials also say that, external South Africa’s property laws protect squatters by mandating that property owners offer them alternative accommodation before evicting them, even if they are undocumented immigrants.
So-called "hijacked" buildings - where gangs take over a building and charge people rent to live there - need to be eradicated, says a spokesman for the city's Emergency Management Services (EMS).
It's suspected that the cramped and unsafe conditions of people living in the building may have contributed to the disaster.
Speaking to the BBC, EMS spokesman Robert Mulaudzi says he worked in the fire and rescue service for 23 years and has never known anything like it.
Image source, South African GovernmentSouth Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has made his first public comments on the blaze in Johannesburg, calling it a "great tragedy".
"Our heart goes out to every person who is affected by this disaster," he said during a visit to Eastern Cape province.
"This incident calls on all of us... to reach out to survivors to help restore their physical and psychological well-being.
"I do hope that the investigations into the fire will enable communities and authorities to prevent a repeat of such a tragedy."
Image source, ReutersThe overnight fire gutted a five-storey building in Johannesburg
In case you have just joined us or want a recap, here is what's happened so far today:
Image source, AFPHundreds of people have gathered behind a police cordon watching what is going on and anxiously waiting for news about relatives and friends.
One of them is Jiya Mcreen who is looking for her 25-year-old brother.
"I’m scared, I’m feeling fear, I don’t know what happened to my brother," she told journalists, external.
"He [usually] stays with a friend, I couldn't find the friend. [My brother’s phone] is off. I tried calling, starting from the morning until now.
"I don't know what I’m going to do now."
In 2021, photographer Shiraaz Mohamed journeyed through Johannesburg's inner city - long seen as dangerous to outsiders and a hotbed of crime, drugs and prostitution - to capture on camera what like life was like in the so-called "hijacked" buildings.
Image source, BBC/SHIRAAZ MOHAMED"Hijacked" is the term given to buildings illegally taken over by gangs who then rent space to tenants - often undocumented immigrants
Image source, BBC/SHIRAAZ MOHAMEDThese residents had to put up blankets and fabric sheets to cover the holes where windows once stood
Image source, BBC/SHIRAAZ MOHAMEDWinter - which is now coming to an end in South Africa - is especially hard in these derelict structures
Image source, BBC/SHIRAAZ MOHAMEDMany occupants turn to drugs as an escape from their daily struggle to survive
See the full photo story here.
Samantha Granville
Reporting from Johannesburg
This is just a small area where loved ones and onlookers wait for news about recovery efforts.
Firefighters say that with each passing hour, this becomes more of a recovery than a rescue effort. A few minutes ago, a group of medical examiners dressed in hazmat suits arrived.
Onlookers wait near a building entrance for firefighters to bring out remains.
Various volunteer groups are starting to bring lunch for the firefighters.
One resident who survived the fire has told South Africa's Newzroom Afrika TV channel his sisters died in the blaze.
"People tried to come down the building but the fire had consumed the entire fifth floor. My sisters, three or four of my sisters, I lost them. Now they are dead," said the young man, who hasn't been named., external
"In the dead of the night, we just heard people crying and a lot of noise. When we opened the windows, we saw the fire," he added.
He survived by jumping through a window.
South Africa’s opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is calling for people to “stand together for better and safer living conditions for all” in the wake of the deadly fire in Johannesburg.
“This is a catastrophe for our nation, causing unimaginable pain and suffering to innocent people,” party leader John Steenhuisen said in a statement.
He added the party’s representatives in Johannesburg would be on the ground to assist affected people, while calling for the authorities to do more to prevent such deaths.
“We will continue to push for safer living conditions and the provision of adequate housing for inner city residents,” he said.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who is Minister in the Presidency, has meanwhile said the national government and presidency are monitoring and getting updated on the situation and will offer assistance if any reinforcement is needed.
Image source, AFPSeventy-three people are now known to have died in the fire.
Among those killed were seven children, including an 18-month old baby, Johannesburg's Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesman Robert Mulaudzi says, external.
He added 52 people were being treated for injuries.
“Firefighter crews are damping down. EMS will conduct preliminary investigations to determine what caused the fire after firefighting operations are done," Mulaudzi told the Times Live news site, external.
The survivors of the fire who are now rendered homeless will be housed in another building owned by the city of Johannesburg, a government official has said.
“About 300 people (141 households) are displaced, including the 49 in hospital and will be housed in another building owned by the City of Johannesburg,” Lebogang Maile said on X, external (formerly known as Twitter).
Maile also said an intergovernmental team would provide survivors and victims’ families with psychological and social services, support in arranging funerals for victims, and help with other necessities.
Samantha Granville
Reporting from Johannesburg
I just spoke to a someone who had been living in the building who escaped, but she refused to give her name because she had been staying there illegally.
She said the fire started during a power outage and that the sound of it was terrifying, describing it as like a bunch of gunshots and then a massive explosion.
The woman said she and her friends then ran out of the building and dropped to their knees to start praying.
Video footage captures the blaze tearing through the building
More than 70 people were killed overnight when fire tore through a derelict Johannesburg building.
Firefighters are still dousing the smouldering debris from the fire which took hold in the early hours of the morning.
Pumza Fihlani
Reporting from Johannesburg
Image source, ReutersIt has been described as one of the worst fire incidents in Johannesburg in recent history - and there are fears the number of fatalities will continue to rise as rescue workers make their way into the remaining floors of the five-storey building.
It’s an old building that was declared unsafe for use - but had been taken over by property gangs operating in the city centre who rent out rooms to scores of people per room.
Such buildings are often without running water and pose a fire hazard because of the numerous illegal electricity connections needed to provide power to tenants.
Describing the incident, Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi told local media: "I've never seen anything like this in my 22 years of service in this city.”
Officials said each floor resembled an informal settlement... rescue workers are combing through makeshift structures resembling shacks, searching for survivors - and more fatalities.
Some of those who escaped have camped outside the building waiting for news of their relatives, others are waiting to see what of their belongings can be salvaged.
Image source, ReutersPeople gather at the scene of the deadly blaze in Johannesburg, with some waiting for news from relatives
Image source, ReutersDozens have been affected by the fire
Image source, EPAFire crews and emergency staff are seen working at the site of the fire
Image source, ReutersFirefighters work at the scene
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