Accessibility links

Breaking News

Fire Kills More Than 70 in Johannesburg


People gather near a building on fire in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 31, 2023 City of Joburg EMS/Handout via REUTERS
People gather near a building on fire in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 31, 2023 City of Joburg EMS/Handout via REUTERS

A building fire in central Johannesburg, South Africa, killed at least 73 people and injured 52 others.

Emergency Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi released the death toll on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying search and recovery efforts were ongoing.

The fire broke out before dawn in a five-story building that Mulaudzi said was being used as an informal settlement by homeless people.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG