Death Toll From Fire In Johannesburg Hijacked Building Has Reached 74, Many More Injured

The death toll from a devastating fire in a hijacked building in Marshalltown, Johannesburg has reached 74, with many more injured, according to eNCA News. The cause of the fire remains unknown, and the exact number of injured individuals is yet to be determined. Emergency services are conducting search operations in the building, and the number of casualties is expected to rise.

The injured are being transported to Helen Joseph Hospital and South Rand Hospital for treatment, according to Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko. The deceased will be taken to Diepkloof Mortuary. SABC News cite Nkomo-Ralehoko as saying: 

From outside because we are responsible for health and wellness, we have activated two hospitals, Helen Joseph and South Rand hospitals. All those that are injured, the CEOs are on site to make sure they get beds and get medical attention and I have my team since morning from the emergency side. And he is here with me together with the CEO of Forensic Pathology Services. So, everyone who has demised, we are taking to Diepkloof; and once Diepkloof is full, we will take them to Hillbrow. We will keep on updating so that families must know where they can get their demised.

The incident has been described as unfortunate by Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, who mentioned that the building, originally intended for rehabilitating displaced women, was illegally occupied. Gwamanda said:

It is unfortunate that we have to keep on responding to situations of this nature where a building is leased for the purpose of rehabilitating society because it was an NGO that dealt specifically with displaced women. However due to unforeseen circumstances, the building ended up serving a different purpose.

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Witnesses have reported the presence of squatter camps and shacks inside the building, contributing to overcrowding issues. Johannesburg Community Safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku noted that locked gates within the building hindered people from escaping, leading to a high death toll. Tshwaku said:

The main reason here that there is a high death toll is that there is a lot of partitions and gates in between. They said people wanted to scream and get out but they could not. Many people’s bodies were found actually stacked on that gate. The bottom line here there is also people who had informal settlement sort of. 

Tshwaku also said the use of highly flammable materials, such as wood, in makeshift structures also exacerbated the situation.

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