Cape Town – In the aftermath of the Marshalltown building fire in Johannesburg, a resident named Moses White, who lost family members in the tragedy, claims that the disaster was even worse than initially reported.
While authorities stated that around 200 people lived in the building, White alleges that there were more than 1 000 occupants, Times Live reported.
He described overcrowded conditions with up to six to eight people in each of the 36 rooms on the first floor, and the building had four floors.
Authorities continued searching for more bodies in the building, using sniffer dogs to aid in the search.
The Gauteng health department disclosed that 62 victims were burnt beyond recognition, with only 12 being identifiable, further underscoring the extent of the tragedy.
Authorities asked relatives to go to a morgue in Soweto to identify the victims, as the search continued at the site.
Meanwhile, the fire has reopened a debate about so-called hijacked buildings — old disused blocks that have fallen under the control of criminal syndicates who collect rent from squatters.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was “a wake-up call for us to begin to address the situation of housing in the inner cities” as he visited the site late on Thursday.
The building, located in an economically depressed, crime-ridden area, was owned by the municipality and listed as a heritage site.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/@CandleySeroba
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional reporting by AFP
