On 31 August 2023, a fire burned down an illegally occupied abandoned building in Johannesburg, South Africa. The fire killed 77 people and badly hurt 88 others. It was one of the deadliest fires in South African history.
Fire
The fire started early in the morning on 31 August 2023, in the Central Business District. It was at a five-story abandoned building on the corner of Delvers and Albert Streets that is owned by the city government and was taken over by gangs. It was being illegally occupied by as many as 400 impoverished people. Many of them were foreign nationals, economic migrants, and asylum seekers. The gangs were charging the illegal occupants rent. The cause of the fire is not currently known. It spread through the building and trapped many people. Many were trapped because of the weak partitions and gates between makeshift rooms made by residents.
Many residents jumped out of the windows of the building to escape. Some of them did not survive the jump.
Aftermath
Some people who survived the fire would not get on buses to be moved to community halls after the fire. They were worried that the relocation would be used by government officials as an excuse to deport them. They also did not want to leave behind the remains of their possessions in the burnt building.