HORROR INFERNO
Johannesburg fire – At least 74 dead including seven children after blaze rips through apartment block in South Africa
A MASSIVE fire has ripped through a five-storey building in South Africa's largest city, killing at least 74 people.
A toddler is among the victims of the horror blaze that broke out overnight in Johannesburg, while another 52 people were injured.
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A shocking image shared on social media shows how the sky was illuminated by an ominous orange glow as the fire raged.
Eyewitnesses said massive flames engulfed the lower levels of the building, blocking the main exit route to safety.
Firefighters frantically rescued a number of people as emergency services worked to extinguish the inferno this morning.
Survivors, many suffering from smoke inhalation, who managed to escape the flames were rushed to local hospitals for treatment.
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But many more were left trapped inside the five-storey complex as the devastating fire "gutted" the lower floors.
Johannesburg Spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi confirmed that seven children were identified as minors among the deceased.
"We've lost seven minors and the youngest child is about a year and a half. Right now, were are heading to the fourth floor after sweeping three floors."
Emergency services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said the building in the downtown area of the major city was "an informal settlement".
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"So there [are] a lot of informal structures inside the building," he said. "There is a lot of debris which we have to remove.
"We are moving floor by floor conducting these body recoveries," he told local media.
"Over 20 years in the service, I've never come across something like this."
He warned that "a lot of people" may have been trapped inside the building when the fire started.
Chilling images show covered bodies lined up outside of the building as the search for further victims continues.
Seven of the victims were children - and the youngest was just one year old.
Some people are said to have dived out of windows to escape the blaze but possibly fell to their deaths.
Locals claim up to 200 people, who were reportedly homeless and looking for accommodation, may have been living in the complex.
Reports suggest most of the residents were migrants from other African countries.
The MMC for public safety in Johannesburg, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, described the incident as "devastating".
He revealed that people were trapped inside the burning building by a gate, seeing them desperately try to pound it open.
Tshwaku told local media: "There was a 12-month-old kid... It was a very sad scene. I haven't seen this in my entire life.
"The bodies are beyond their recognition. Inside the building itself, there was a gate which was closed so people couldn't get out.
"When the firefighters went inside, a lot of people who came from the floor actually got smashed onto the gate which was closed... a lot of people were found [dead] near that gate."
It has been also reported a lot of inflammable items including wood were kept inside the informal settlement.
The flats have now been evacuated and the fire has been extinguished, authorities said.
A complex search and recovery operation is now underway as teams hunt for missing occupants.
Officials expect the grisly death toll to rise further as they wade through the debris of the multi-storey building.
Those desperately searching for their loved ones were warned the chances of finding them alive were "very slim".
One crestfallen mother was seen searching for her 24-year-old daughter and said she fears she may have perished in the fire.
"I am looking for her everywhere," the teary-eyed mum said.
"Now, that I am here I am in suspense because I don't what is happening and people are being evacuated. I don't know if she is alive as the death toll is rising."
Onlookers say emergency services were continuing to bring out bodies onto the street, covered under blankets and sheets.
The cause of the deadly blaze, which broke out in the former business district of South Africa's economic hub, remains unclear.
Local media say the neighbourhood is notorious for "hijacked" buildings that have been taken over by undocumented migrants.
One frantic woman trying to track down her daughter sobbed as she told reporters: "This is not a place where somebody can live.
"I was trying to get her to come back home so she could get back to the life she was living before."
Imtiaz Sooliman, director of the disaster response charity Gift of the Givers, said the tragedy could have been avoided.
"The inner city has been left to collapse, we need to re-look at it, not just at the city but the country as a whole," he told local news outlets.
"I know this is a hijacked building, but we need to look at maintenance, building laws, infrastructure, fire escapes, fire extinguishers all those kinds of things.
"We need a concerted effort from the government, municipalities, and different departments and of course, owners and people as a whole have to take responsibility."
Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has also visited the site to assess the situation and share his plans to tackle the issue of squatters in unsae buildings.
He told reporters: "I have set up a sub-mayoral committee. There is a focus on the inner city in particular.
"This is not just our problem as a government, it's a collective problem because the people are occupying these buildings."
The incident came shortly after the region was rocked by a 3.2 magnitude earthquake, recorded at a depth of 5km.
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The epicentre of the earthquake was traced back to a location 9.1km southeast of Randfontein, Gauteng.
There is no suggestion that the earthquake was linked to the fire.
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