South African firefighters have re-entered the Johannesburg building, razed by fire on Thursday, August 31 to see if they can discover any more bodies, in the aftermath of the inferno.
The fire which occurred in the overcrowded and dilapidated five-storey building, had claimed 74 lives, including 12 children as at the time of filing this report.
The fire service had remarked that it wanted to be sure that no body was left behind.
The cause of the fire is still to be determined but forensic investigators have arrived at the site to sift through the scorched remains of the burnt-out building.
A dog search team has also entered the wreckage, now that it is less smoky and cooler than it was on Thursday.
Relatives who are of the belief that family members may have been a part of the victims of the fire have been asked to go to the mortuary to help identify the the possible bodies of their loved ones.
However, this order has a lot of loopholes as officials have remarked that out of the 74 corpses recovered, 62 bodies had been burned beyond recognition, but there is hope that DNA samples would be used to help identify the corpses.
Tanzania’s Acting High Commissioner Peter Shija, had revealed that he has so far, discovered that five of his compatriots had perished in the inferno while three persons were injured.
Shija had also revealed to eNCA, a South African news station that 150 Tanzanians had made the building their home before the tragedy had struck.
On Thursday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in central Johannesburg to see the site of the disaster. He had afterwards, called the tragedy a “wake-up call” for the nation to begin tackling the situation of housing in the inner city.
It is noteworthy to mention that several reports have suggested that a candle, paraffin stove or a malfunctioning electricity connection may have been the cause of Thursday’s blaze.
