A fire in the Johannesburg city centre killed 12 people and left 33 others injured in the early hours of Wednesday, Johannesburg emergency services said.
”The cause of death of all 12 appears to be traumatic asphyxia — they suffocated because they couldn’t get out,” spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said.
He said the fire started in a disused factory or workshop on the corner of Commissioner and Nugget Streets at about 1am.
Residents threw their belongings into a passage in the building in an attempt to save them, making it difficult for themselves and others to get out.
Nick Dollman, another emergency services spokesperson, said most of those killed were trampled as they tried to run down the stairs to get out over three or four storeys at numbers 207 and 209 Commissioner Street.
It was not clear how many people were inside the building when the fire broke out.
Midgley said the building had one emergency and one other exit. Both were blocked.
”One of the bodies had the imprint of a security gate on his skin. For those imprints to have remained on him for several hours, you can imagine the pressure with which he was squeezed against it,” he said.
He could not say how many people were living in the building as residents would not speak to paramedics, but said there were about 150 beds. Emergency workers found some Malawian passports. Dollman said nine of the injured were in a critical and 19 in a serious condition. Most of the patients had burn-related injuries.
They were taken to Johannesburg General, Helen Joseph and Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. – Sapa