SA President calls for investigation into fire

South African president has called for an investigation into the fire that killed at least 74 people on Thursday to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The building that caught fire was at Johannesburg's city centre and was hijacked after being used as a shelter for women and children. The flat was being occupied by South Africans, Tanzanians, Malawians, Mozambicans and Zimbabweans. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the building on Thursday evening and called for an investigation into what caused the fire so that such an incident won't occur again.

"This is a great tragedy felt by families whose loved ones perished in this awful manner, and our hearts go out to every person affected by this event. This incident calls on all of us, from the emergency services and other entities of government to community-based organizations, to reach out to survivors to help restore people's physical psychological wellbeing and offer all material help residents may need," said Ramaphosa.

Floyd Blink, Johannesburg city manager, said as of 2 pm on Thursday, 61 people were treated at various medical facilities, 16 had been discharged, 17 were admitted at health centers and others were still receiving care. The flat which caught fire had connected water and electricity illegally, said Blink.

He said: "At this stage, we believe a total of 200 or more families were residents of the building. Our social development department has deployed 16 social workers to provide assessment, trauma counseling and psychosocial support."

Blink said they have not concluded what caused the fire.

Three shelters have been identified to temporarily accommodate the homeless families.

Thembalethu Mpahlaza, middle manager, Gauteng Forensic Pathology Service, said 10 bodies were burnt beyond recognition and they can't tell whether they are males or females. A total of 12 children died during the inferno, including a one-year-old child. Four body parts were found in the debris and they do not know who they belong to, said Mpahlaza.

Johannesburg's Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said people partitioned the houses using cupboards which made the fire spread fast. He said the rooms were not accessible initially and there was lots of debris. He said that of the past 20 years that he has been working in the field he has never experienced such horror.

He said: "The number of fatalities keeps on rising as search and recovery operations continue.... Firefighter's crews have currently recovered bodies and the number may rise more as search and recovery continues. The building has been turned into an informal settlement with an estimate of over 80 shacks. The fire spread very quickly affecting different levels of the building because of the combustible materials used."

In 2019, the police arrested 140 undocumented foreign nations in the same building during a blitz. They also arrested a suspect whom they charged with illegally collecting rent from tenants at the building. Blink said they do not know how the case was concluded.

Ramaphosa said the incident should be a wakeup call for the government to enforce its own laws and recover hijacked buildings. The building was used as a court during the Apartheid era and Ramaphosa said it is one of the country's heritage sites.