At least 77 people died when an alleged hijacked building in Johannesburg CBD caught fire on Thursday. Image: Pixabay
WATCH: Another building gutted by fire in Johannesburg CBD
Another building has been gutted by fire in the Johannesburg CBD just two weeks after another blaze claimed the lives of over 70 people.
At least 77 people died when an alleged hijacked building in Johannesburg CBD caught fire on Thursday. Image: Pixabay
A building at the corners of Delvers and Cornelius in the Johannesburg CBD has been gutted by fire.
According to reports, the three-storey building is hijacked. The incident comes just two weeks after the five-storey Usindiso Building in Marshalltown was also gutted by fire which claimed the lives of over 70 people.
ANOTHER JOHANNESBURG CBD BUILDING GUTTED BY FIRE
Johanesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Xolile Khumalo said the fire has been extinguished and everyone was safely evacuated from the hijacked building.
Khumalo said the fire was reported before 10:00 on Friday and no casualties were reported.
“The fire started on the ground floor where residents have built shacks inside the building,” she explained.
ALSO READ: Families of Johannesburg fire victims don’t have to pay for bodies to be released
COMMISSION OF INQUIRY TO PROBE HIJACKED BUILDINGS
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has appointed a commission of inquiry into the deadly Usindiso Building fire in Johannesburg.
The fire on Thursday, 31 August, claimed the lives of at least 78 people and left scores of others injured and homeless.
The Commission will be led by retired Justice Khampepe, whom Advocate Thulani Makhubela and Vuyelwa Mathilda Mabena will join.
Lesufi said the Commission will investigate the prevalence of hijacked buildings in Johannesburg, what caused the deadly blaze in Marshalltown, and who must shoulder total responsibility for this tragedy.
“In Johannesburg, the issue of stolen buildings is becoming a crisis, necessitating drastic action. A thorough intervention is required to ensure that disasters like the Marshalltown fire, one of the deadliest in recent memory, never happen again,” Lesufi said.
ALSO READ: Sixty two bodies in deadly Johannesburg fire unidentifiable
