Over 70 killed in massive building fire in South Africa’s Johannesburg .

At least 73 people died in a massive fire on Thursday in a multi-story residential building in South Africa’s Johannesburg, the municipal officials confirmed. More than 50 others were injured.

Emergency Management Services said the fire has been extinguished and search and rescue operation was underway, and it was likely that the death toll would rise.

Firefighters and emergency vehicles were on the scene, while bodies lay covered on a street near the site of the deadly blaze.

It is estimated that there might have been as many as 200 people living in the building.

Authorities added that at least 53 people were injured in the blaze, that broke out in the predawn hours.

Johannesburg Emergency service official Robert Mulaudzi said that the building was effectively an “informal settlement” where homeless people had moved in looking for accommodation without any formal lease agreements. That made it hard to search the building, he added.

Mulaudzi stated that in his more than 20 years of service, he has “never encountered something like this before.”

The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are yet to be ascertained
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