74 people have lost their lives after a fire broke out in a building housing approximately 400 people in Johannesburg.

Authorities have reported that more than 50 people are in hospital being treated for their wounds. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the blaze was “a great tragedy”.

“I do hope that the investigations into the fire will… prevent a repeat of such a tragedy.” he said.

Municipal authorities who own the building, are still unable to give an accurate evaluation of who lived there.

This may be due to the fact that this building, along with many others in the city, is known as a “hijacked building,” meaning criminal syndicates would “hijack” the buildings and rent them out illegally.

The blaze that erupted in the early hours of the morning raises further questions about the safety of these buildings.

Lebogang Isaac Maile, the head of the Human Settlements department for Gauteng province, detailed to Reuters how the residents of the building were being extorted.

“There are cartels who prey on those who are vulnerable people,” he said. “Because some of these buildings, if not most of them, are actually in the hands of those cartels who collect rent from the people.”

Johannesburg is currently undergoing a housing crisis with more than 15,000 homeless people, according to the Gauteng provincial government.

The president echoed the need for an improvement in the cities housing as the informal dwellings are home to many economically poor migrants.

“It’s a wake-up call for us to begin to address the situation of housing in the inner city.”

Photo: View of Johannesburg Downtown, South Africa by Sherissa R available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.