INNER-CITY BLAZE
Images of heartbreak, death and dying from the Johannesburg fire
A devastating fire ripped through a Johannesburg inner city building around 1.30am on Thursday, leaving in its wake at least 73 dead and 55 injured, including children and babies. Felix Dlangamandla captured the early morning scenes.
When an image requires no caption. Bodies of some of those who died in the devastating fire are lined up, some covered in blankets, others already in body bags. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
Firefighters were on Thursday morning still dousing the fire in the condemned building. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
Johannesburg emergency personnel were stretched to capacity as they responded to the fire which started around 1.30am on Thursday. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
The fire was still burning early on Thursday morning as emergency workers got it under control and retrieved the dead bodies of adults, children and babies. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
Onlookers watch as emergency personnel work at the scene of the devastating fire. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
A firefighter looks out a window of the devastated building. At 11.30am on Thursday, emergency workers were working on the 4th and 5th storey. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
Emergency workers converge at the entrance to the burnt building. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
Fire services douse the last flames enabling emergency workers to access the building safely in search of survivors and to retrieve bodies. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
All five storeys of the building either burnt or were impacted by the smoke. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
Emergency personnel load a survivor into an ambulance. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)
Forensic experts working on the scene where the deceased had been placed outside the burnt out building. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) DM
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How can this be allowed to happen? Back to basics.
And now the blame game amongst the City Of Joburg departments will start. It’s not going to be anyone’s fault and the only people fired will be the security guard and some minor Property department official. Senior managers and the political gangsters will send their thoughts and prayers to the affected families and make sad faces and shake their heads, and then go home and open a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue and tell their spouses what a tough day they had. In the end they’ll blame Jan Van Riebeek and Apartheid and the DA.
The guard and official will be suspended with full pay for a few years and then redeployed.