At least 74 dead as fire rips through rundown building in South Africa

A witness who did not give his name told television news channel eNCA that he lived in a building next door and heard people screaming for help and shouting: “We’re dying in here.”

Fire marshals inspect the scene of a deadly blaze in Johannesburg (Theme Hadebe/AP)

A night-time fire ripped through a rundown apartment building mainly occupied by homeless people and squatters in Johannesburg, leaving at least 74 people dead, officials in South Africa have said.

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