By Xinhua
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) — The death toll caused by a building fire in the city center of Johannesburg, South Africa, has risen to 73, an official said Thursday. “The number of fatalities keeps on rising as search and recovery operations continue at the five-story building that was engulfed with flames earlier this morning at Johannesburg central business district. The deceased are now 73 and the injured are 52,” Robert Mulaudzi, spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, told Xinhua. Among the deceased were seven children, Mulaudzi said. Mulaudzi said they were informed that the building was on fire at around 1:30 a.m., local time, Thursday and they are still struggling to access some rooms with debris in the building. The building has been turned into an informal settlement with an estimate of more than 80 shacks and the fire spread very quickly affecting different levels of the building because of the combustible materials like boards used to partition the rooms, he said. The Emergency Management Services will conduct preliminary investigations to determine what caused the fire after firefighting operations are done, said Mulaudzi. Enditem
