58 killed, over 40 injured in high-rise fire in Johannesburg

Johannesburg [South Africa]: At least 73 people have been reported killed so far in a fire that broke out in a multi-storey building in Johannesburg, South Africa's biggest city, local authorities said.

Officials added that 52 more were injured in the blaze, which broke out in the middle of the night.

Authorities said the fire had been largely extinguished, but smoke still seeped out of windows of the blackened building. It took three hours to contain.

Earlier:

At least 58 were killed and more than 40 people injured after a fire broke out at a multistorey building in downtown Johannesburg.

The spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, Robert Mulaudzi, posted on X, formerly Twitter, "Latest update 58 bodies recovered and 43 injured still continuing with search and recovery operation."

"Multiple patients treated on scene transported to various health care facilities for further medical care," Mulaudzi informed further in his post.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, according to Al Jazeera citing South Africa’s News24 online news site.

Further details are awaited.