Johannesburg: More than 70 people including children were killed as fire engulfed a five-storey building in central Johannesburg on Thursday, AFP reported.
At least 52 people were injured with some suffering from smoke inhalation, the news agency reported citing the South African city's emergency services.
‘We have now 73 fatalities and 52 people injured who were transported to various healthcare facilities for further medical care,’ Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi was quoted as saying.
The youngest of the seven children killed in the conflagration was less than two years old.
Suggesting the gravity of the incident the report said that some of the victims were burned beyond recognition.
Robert Mulaudzi said that search and recovery operations are underway as they move floor by floor.
‘We are moving floor by floor conducting these body recoveries,’ he was quoted by local broadcaster ENCA.
Emergency services are working to bring down charred bodies from the building, according to the report.
Bodies were laid down under blankets and sheets on the street outside the building.
‘It is indeed a sad day for the city of Johannesburg... over 20 years in the service, I've never come across something like this,’ Mulaudzi reportedly said.