Johannesburg CBD fire, death toll rises to 77. Image: Twitter
Johannesburg CBD fire: One victim identified out of 76
Only one of the 76 victims of the Johannesburg fire has been identified, the corpse is anticipated to be buried according to Muslim customs.
Johannesburg CBD fire, death toll rises to 77. Image: Twitter
So far, only one of the 76 victims of the Johannesburg fire has been identified. On Saturday, the corpse is anticipated to be buried according to Muslim customs.
In Soweto’s Diepkloof Forensic Pathology Service (FPS) mortuary, the identification procedure is still ongoing.
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SABC reported that, given that several of the victims were Muslims, Anis Kara from the Fordsburg Muslim Youth Organization is helping with the burials.
The death toll rose to 76 on Thursday afternoon after the blaze that took hold shortly after midnight.
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Dozens more people were being treated for injuries in hospitals around the city. Twelve of those killed were children, the Gauteng health department said.
What happened during the tragedy of the fire?
Rescuers combed the multi-storey building in the centre of Johannesburg floor-by-floor for much of the day. The walls were blackened with soot and all the windows were broken, some by the inferno itself and others by desperate people trying to jump to safety.
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When the fire broke out, at about 1am on Thursday, the only door in and out of the building was locked, leaving residents with no way to escape. This was a routine precaution to prevent theft, and to slow down any potential police raids.
Around 400 vulnerable people, mostly migrants and asylum seekers from Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, as well as some South Africans, lived in the building at 80 Albert Street on an unofficial basis.
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What will happen to the survivors?
MEC for human settlements Lebogang Maile, the mayor said, the municipality and provincial government will provide relief to the affected victims.
“There will be social relief. We have already identified three buildings that the surviving victims will be allocated to. We have agreed that we are not going to deal with people on the basis of nationality. At this point, everyone who is affected will be given humanitarian assistance.
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