63 People Killed In Fire At South African Johannesburg Business Center

Illustration of firefighters. (Wikimedia Commons/DVIDSHUB)

JAKARTA - At least 63 people were killed and 43 others injured in a fire in the central district of the Johannesburg business, South Africa on Thursday, the city government said.

Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, the city government said in a post on Twitter.

"The Johannesburg City Emergency Management Service can confirm that the death toll has risen to 63," the city government said.

Firefighters and emergency vehicles were at the scene, while bodies lay with emergency blankets on a road near the site of the fire that early that morning.

Media said the fire engulfed a five-story building that had been abandoned in one stage, but was occupied by many people. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.

Authorities said most of the fires had been extinguished, but smoke was still coming out of the window of the blackening building in the city center.

Meanwhile, emergency service spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said the death toll could increase. Although the team has found dozens of bodies, there may still be some people who are still trapped inside the burning building.

"During my 20 years of service, I have never found anything like this," Mulaudzi said as quoted by The National News.

Mulaudzi said the homeless had moved to the building without a formal rental agreement. He said this made it difficult to search the building. The witness estimated that there were as many as 200 people living in the building.

It is known that illegal occupations of used buildings in the city center are widespread. Many are said to be under the control of criminal syndicates who collect rent from their residents.