President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his address to the nation which was meant to take place on Thursday evening.
This is as a result of the devastating fire that claimed more than 70 lives in Marshalltown, in the Joburg Central District (CBD).
The fire broke out during the early hours of Thursday morning in a five storey building on the corner of Alberts and Delvers streets.
It is alleged that the fire started on the ground floor before spreading to other floors.
Seven children are reported to have died, the youngest being an 18-month-old.
The Presidency announced that Ramaphosa would conduct a site visit to receive a briefing on the emergency and recovery operations.
He will also receive an update on the support government is providing to the affected families.
Sixty-one injured patients were taken to Helen Joseph hospital for treatment.
Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said the building was hijacked and that there were 80 shacks inside the building.
“On arrival, firefighters started to evacuate all the people out of the building while conducting firefighting operations.
“At this stage, the cause of the fire incident is still a subject of investigations,” said Mulaudzi.
City of Johannesburg disaster management officials have been activated to start facilitating relief for affected families.
Earlier in the day, MEC of human settlements Lebogang Maile visited the scene and said the most important thing was to convey condolences to families who lost loved ones.
“As some people were trying to escape, they ended up dying in other people’s houses. I have never witnessed such a tragic thing in my life,” Maile said.
“Seeing a person burnt beyond recognition like that was difficult to take in.
“This incident demonstrates a chronic problem of housing in our province. At least 1.2-million people need housing in Gauteng.
“The city knows of over 20 buildings that need to be developed and house people. As the provincial government, we will be working with the City of Joburg to help the victims.
“We have identified the buildings that the surviving victims will be allocated to.”
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