A person leapt in panic from the first floor of the Rand International hotel in Bree Street, Johannesburg, on Tuesday afternoon to escape a fire raging through two shops below on street level.
”The fire was not even in that part of the building,” said Johannesburg fire and emergency services spokesperson Malcolm Midgley.
The jumper sustained back injuries, he said.
Another 10 people were taken to hospital. They suffered from smoke inhalation.
Midgley said firefighters took 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which started at 3pm and was caused by an overloaded electrical connection.
He said the shops — particularly their stock of clothes, shoes, cellphones and accessories — were severely damaged but there was no structural damage. — Sapa