At least 74 dead, many of them homeless, as fire rips through building in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A nighttime fire ripped through a rundown apartment building mainly occupied by homeless people and squatters in Johannesburg early Thursday, leaving at least 74 dead, officials said.

Some people threw babies out of third-story windows to others waiting below in the desperate scramble to evacuate, witnesses said.

At least 12 of those killed were children, the youngest a 1-year-old, according to city and medical officials.

They said at a news conference that an undetermined number of people were still missing and many bodies recovered were burned beyond recognition.

More than 50 people were injured, six of whom were in serious condition in the hospital.

Emergency services officials had earlier warned that the death toll could rise as they continued to search the scene more than 12 hours after the blaze broke out at around 1 a.m.

Dozens of bodies recovered by firefighters were laid out on a side road outside the apartment block, some in body bags, others covered in silver sheets or blankets after the body bags ran out.

They were eventually taken away in pathology department vehicles.

“Over 20 years in the service, I've never come across something like this,” Johannesburg Emergency Services Management spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said.\

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