Summary

  • 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

Live Reporting

Edited by Emma Owen and Alexandra Fouché

  1. Building owned by city of Johannesburg

    Man in a hi-viz jacketCity of Johannesburg

    Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has been talking to people at the scene

    Johannesburg city officials, who have been holding a press conference close to where the blaze happened, have confirmed that the building was owned by the city.

    It had been leased to an NGO, but they are nowhere to be seen.

    The officials blamed criminal "cartels" who "prey on poor and vulnerable people" by taking over - or "hijacking" - buildings and then dangerously overfilling them.

    In response to a question about whether his administration would take responsibility for the tragedy, Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda defended his council saying it was dealing with the problem of hijacking and had already tackled the issue in other parts of the city.

    Lebogang Maile, the politician responsible for housing in the local province, said there was a chronic problem with housing in the area, with 1.2 million people needing somewhere to live.

  2. Death toll now at 73
    Breaking

    Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi says 73 bodies have now been found.

    At least another 52 people have been injured and many are reported have back injuries, possibly from jumping from the windows.

    Search and recovery operations are continuing.

  3. South Africa has become magnet for migrants

    Fire fighters work at the scene of a deadly blaze in the early hours of the morning, in Johannesburg, South AfricaReuters

    The area of central Johannesburg where the blaze happened is home to a lot of African migrants to South Africa, the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko says.

    The building that caught fire is in an area where there are what are termed "hijacked" buildings - meaning it has been taken over by gangs who then rent it out.

    South Africa, which has one of the largest economies on the continent, has become a magnet for people from neighbouring states as well as further afield in Africa.

    There has been a long history of people going to South Africa for work - particularly in the mining sector - but in recent decades, the numbers have boomed.

    Official statistics say that there are 2.9 million immigrants in the country out of a population of 60 million, but the numbers could be higher as there are thought to be many undocumented migrants.

    UN data from 2020 suggests that people from neighbouring Zimbabwe made up the highest proportion – almost one in four migrants – but there are also many from Mozambique, Lesotho and Malawi.

    South Africa has also drawn people from Somalia in East Africa and Nigeria in West Africa.

    We have more on so-called "hijacked" buildings here.

  4. Many victims may be hard to identify - report

    Some readers may find details in this post distressing.

    Many of the bodies in the Johannesburg fire could be difficult to identify as they are burned beyond recognition, a report by South Africa's Newzroom Afrika television channel has said.

    "The bodies we've been able to see emerge from the building are going to be incredibly difficult to identify. Those are bodies that have possibly been in direct contact with the flames.

    "If what we've seen is anything to go by, by the time the family members are able to engage with the remains, there is going to be an incredibly difficult task of finding just something that resembles their loved ones," Newzroom Afrika's reporter Ayanda Nyathi said.

  5. Scene of fire was 'informal settlement'

    Samantha Granville
    Reporting from Johannesburg

    Charred windows at the block of flatsReuters

    A spokesman for Johannesburg's emergency services has told the BBC that the block of flats where the blaze broke out was effectively an “informal settlement”.

    Robert Mulaudzi told the BBC that the building had been abandoned previously, but homeless people had moved in looking for shelter during the current cold winter months.

    He added that since it was not a formal accommodation with a lease, the building was not properly looked after and makeshift structures and debris had made it hard to search for and rescue people.

  6. 'I don't know if my daughter is alive'

    A tearful mother, Treasurelee Shuping, has been outside the building that caught fire looking for her 24-year-old daughter.

    "As soon as I heard the building was burning down, I knew I had to run here to come and look for her," she told journalists.

    "Now that I'm here, I'm kept in suspense because I really don't know what is happening. I don't get any direction - so I'm actually very anxious, I don't know if my daughter is alive."

    Asked about the condition of the building, which others have described as being overcrowded, she said:

    "It was in a very bad state - not a place that somebody can live in, that's why I was trying to get her back home."

  7. WATCH: Scene of deadly fire in central Johannesburg

    Watch: Emergency crews at the scene of the fire

    Emergency services in the South African city of Johannesburg say more than 60 people have died in a fire in a block of flats that's also left many injured.

    The authorities say it’s unclear what sparked the blaze at the five-storey building in the city centre in the early hours.

  8. Fire victims were trapped, firefighter says

    A firefighter has said that many of the victims of the Johannesburg fire were likely trapped by combustible shack-like structures that had been erected in the building.

    "The picture is of an informal settlement inside the building.

    “The combustible material which is burning inside the building is mostly like the one you find in a normal shack, so the risk of you being trapped as you try to escape is high," a firefighter told South Africa's Power 98.7 radio.

  9. Building mostly occupied by undocumented immigrants - reports

    The occupants of the building in the Johannesburg fire were predominantly immigrants, according to local reports.

    Local reports say that the area where the building is located is an inner city neighbourhood that is infamous for "hijacked" buildings, a term used in South Africa to refer to buildings illegally taken over by unscrupulous landlords who then rent them out.

    In the wake of the fire, many South Africans on social media have condemned the online xenophobic attacks that some have made against the victims and survivors of the fire.

  10. In pictures: Johannesburg flats blaze

    The fire tore through the flats in the early hours of this morningReuters

    The fire tore through the flats in the early hours of this morning

    People walk past blaze site in JohannesburgReuters

    People walk past blaze site in Johannesburg

    Firefighters attend blaze at building in JohannesburgGetty Images

    Firefighters attend scene of a fire at the block of flats

    Firefighters on street outside the flats overnightReuters

    Firefighters on street outside the flats overnight

  11. Death toll rises to 63
    Breaking

    The latest death toll from the fire has risen to 63, according to the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services.

    Posting on social media, the city of Johannesburg municipality account said the "search mission" continues.

  12. Death toll expected to rise as crews go floor by floor - city official

    A building in Johannesburg smoulders after fire crews tackle a blaze which has so far killed 52 peopleGetty Images

    Let's get some more now on the search and rescue operation which is ongoing in central Johannesburg.

    Emergency service spokesman Robert Mulaudzi admits he expects the death toll to rise.

    "We're on 52 bodies, which we have recovered and also 43 people who sustained minor injuries," Mulaudzi told local broadcaster ENCA.

    "We are moving floor by floor conducting these body recoveries."

    The five-storey building, which has been evacuated, is located in a deprived area of what used to be the business district of South Africa's economic hub, and was used as an informal settlement, Mulaudzi says.

  13. 'Not seen something like this in my 22 years of service'

    Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi has told local television station Newzroom Afrika that the fire happened in a five-storey building that had been abandoned at one stage but where people had been living.

    It is an ageing building, he said, and firefighters have been going through floor to floor to clear the debris.

    He told the TV station that he had never come across "something like this in my 22 years of service".

    He said there are a lot of informal structures inside the building, "in every floor"

    It is not immediately clear what caused the blaze.

  14. Police cordon off central Johannesburg area

    South African firefighters and South African Police Service officers work at the sceen of a fire in JohannesburgGetty Images

    We have some images from the scene in central Johannesburg which show the extent of the damage.

    A video posted to the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, by emergency service spokesman Robert Mulaudzi footage showed fire trucks and ambulances outside the red and white building with burned-out windows.

    Police have also cordoned off the area of Marshalltown.

  15. Quick recap of what we know so far

    Firefighters at the scene of a blaze at a five-storey block in JohannesburgGetty Images

    Let's just have a quick recap of what we know so far:

    • Emergency services say 52 people have died in a fire in a block of flats in central Johannesburg
    • Dozens more have been injured in the blaze which happened at the five-storey building in Marshalltown
    • City authorities say it is unclear what sparked the fire
    • Firefighters have been able to bring out some of the occupants
    • One official told the BBC the fire gutted the building adding the search for other victims continues
    • The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Cllr Kabelo Gwamanda, will attend the scene later this morning at 09:30 local time

  16. Emergency services continue to search building

    Firefighters attend blaze in JohannesburgReuters

    Emergency services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi has told the BBC that the fire gutted the building in the Johannesburg CBD at around 01:30 local time (00:30 BST).

    He said firefighters evacuated the building’s occupants on arrival and the search and recovery of bodies is continuing.

  17. Death toll more than doubled in less than an hour

    To give you an idea of how quickly things are changing, only an hour ago did emergency services in Johannesburg tells us the fire killed 20 people.

    Twenty minutes ago the death toll figure more than doubled to 47.

    And in the last few moments officials have confirmed 52 bodies have been recovered.

  18. Welcome to our coverage

    James Harness

    You join us as news reaches us from South Africa that more than 50 people have died following a fire at a block of flats in Johannesburg overnight.

    There is still an unclear picture as to what sparked the blaze and emergency services tell us the search and recovery of bodies is continuing.

    Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates, developments and analysis from our team of journalists and correspondents.