More than 70 dead after Johannesburg apartment block fire

The deadly blaze took place in the early hours of Thursday, as ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports

More than 70 people have died, including 12 children, in Johannesburg after a fire ripped through a multi-storey building, emergency services have said.

A further 55 people were injured in the blaze - six of whom are in serious condition in hospital - after a fire which broke out in the South African city on Thursday morning.

The fire took hold of a five-storey apartment block, which local authorities call a "hijacked building" - the term refers to abandoned buildings taken over by people without homes.

Authorities have confirmed that at least 74 people have died, with the youngest victim being a one-year-old child.

Some of the victims may have died after throwing themselves out of windows, according to a government official.

Firefighters contained the blaze within three hours and have since launched a search and recovery operation.

Currently, the cause of the fire is not known.

An emergency services spokesman described the scale of the fire as something he had "never" came across before in a career spanning 20 years.

Witnesses have suggested there may have been as many as 200 people living in the building.

Firefighters contained the blaze within three hours of it starting

One unnamed witness told South African TV channel eNCA that he heard people screaming for help and shouting "we're dying in here", when the fire started.

The building in question was reportedly owned by the city of Johannesburg and is considered a heritage site, but not regulated by the local government.

South Africa's notorious "pass" office, which controlled the movement of Black people under the racist system of apartheid, was previously located at the site, according to a plaque hanging at the entrance.

"Denied a place in the city, many were ordered to leave Johannesburg," the plaque reads.

Around 700 buildings in central Johannesburg are thought to be derelict and abandoned by their owners.

Want a quick, expert briefing on the biggest stories of the day? Listen to What You Need To Know...