Blaze at five-storey block puts spotlight on dangerous state of ‘hijacked’ city buildings occupied by vulnerable residents

Survivors of a fire that ripped through a building in Johannesburg described jumping out of windows to escape the flames, as questions were raised about the dilapidated and dangerous state of the informal dwellings housing poor economic migrants in the city.

The death toll rose to 74 on Thursday afternoon after the blaze that took hold shortly after midnight. Dozens more people were being treated for injuries in hospitals around the city. Twelve of those killed were children, the Gauteng health department said.

Seven children among dozens dead after blaze tears through building in South Africa’s largest city

At least 73 people, including seven children, have died in a fire in a multi-storey building in the centre of Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city, emergency services have said.

In one of the country’s worst such tragedies in living memory, emergency management services said a further 43 people had been injured in the blaze, which broke out early on Thursday.

Residents of the South African city delight in rare snow day caused by a surge in humidity and cold temperatures

Residents of South Africa’s biggest city, Johannesburg, were stunned by the first snowfall in over a decade on Monday, with some children seeing snow for the first time.

While parts of South Africa regularly receive snow over the southern hemisphere winter months of June to August, Johannesburg last had snow in August 2012.

Leak in informal settlement in Boksburg on outskirts of city may be linked to illegal mining, authorities say, as search continues for more casualites

At least 16 people, including three children, died when toxic gas leaked from a cylinder near Johannesburg, South African police have said. Emergency services said the leak appeared to be linked to illegal mining activities.

Emergency services initially announced that as many as 24 people might be dead in the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg. But police and Gauteng Province premier Panyaza Lesufi later said the number of deaths had been confirmed as 16 after a recount of the bodies. Police said the three children killed were aged one, six and 15. Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment, police said.

Rapist and murderer’s escape sparked outrage over competence of country’s police and criminal justice system

A fugitive rapist and murderer who left a burnt corpse in his cell during a jailbreak has returned to prison in South Africa after fleeing to Tanzania.

The case has embarrassed authorities and sparked fresh outrage over the competence of South Africa’s police and criminal justice system.