Johannesburg fire: more than 70 people dead and 52 others injured after blaze at five-storey building

At least 73 people, including seven children, have died following a blaze at a five-storey building in Johannesburg with emergency services working to investigate the ruins.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday (31 August) morning in the Marshalltown neighbourhood of South Africa's biggest city. The building itself was reportedly being used as "informal housing" for around 200 homeless people, with makeshift living quarters and shacks lining the halls making an escape difficult.

A firefighter who attended the scene spoke to local radio station Power 98.7 about the conditions inside the building. They said: "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."

Some of those trapped inside the building when the fire broke out were seen by witnesses jumping from windows, with officials believing that some fatalities may have resulted from this. According to emergency services, at least seven of the victims were children, including a one-year-old baby.

At least 52 others were injured in the blaze. Robert Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the emergency services, said that the number of fatalities could rise once again and the chances of finding anyone alive was "very slim" as officials make their way through the gutted building.

Mr Mulaudzi added: "Over 20 years in the service, I've never come across something like this." He went on to tell South African newspaper Times Live that the Emergency Management Serivces will "conduct preliminary investigation" once firefighters have finished their work on the building.

The cause of the fire is said to not have been immediately clear. A local government official, Mgcini Tshwaku, said that there were some indications that those living inside the building had lit fires to stay warm during the colder winter months, however officials are still investigating.

Abandoned buildings being converted into an "informal housing" type of accommodation - often referred to as 'hijacked buildings' - has become an issue within the province. The South African government said that the blaze at the building in Marshalltown was representative of a "chronic problem" in which 12 million people are in need of housing.