Hillbrow Fire Claims 2 Children’s Lives After They Were Trapped in Locked Florence Nightingale Apartment Alone

Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 10:31 AM by Lerato Mutsila 2 min read

The fire that ravaged an apartment building in Hillbrow, downtown Johannesburg has claimed the lives of two minors
The children were locked in a first-floor apartment in the Florence Nightingale flats after being left home alone
Johannesburg Mayor Kable Gwamanda said the illegally occupied building did not meet the occupational safety standards of the city

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JOHANNESBURG - The Hillbrow apartment blaze has ended in immense tragedy after two children were killed in the fire.

Two children have been killed in an apartment fire in Hillbrow, Johannesburg — The fire that ripped through a hijacked Hillbrow apartment has claimed the lives of two children. Image: @newslivesa/Twitter & stock photo/Getty Images
Source: UGC

The children, believed to be five and seven, were trapped in a locked apartment after being left alone at the Florence Nightingale flats in downtown Johannesburg.

The fire broke out at the hijacked building on Wednesday afternoon, 21 June and spread to four floors of the previously abandoned building.

Residents who fled the building when it was engulfed in flames said they could not reach the children locked inside the first-floor flat. Paramedics tragically found the two minors burnt beyond recognition, SABC News reported.

Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda visits scene of Hillbrow apartment fire

The Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Kabelo Gwamanda, visited the location of the blaze on Wednesday evening. The mayor said that the building had been hijacked by residents and was illegally occupied, News24 reported.

Gwamanda said that the conditions of the structures don't meet the health and safety standard of the city.

Gwamanda added:

"As a result, the illegal occupants are at an increased risk of fires and other safety disasters, given the non-existent occupational safety standards in the buildings."

While the authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, Johannesburg's disaster management and social development departments have deployed relief resources to assist the affected residents.

SA enraged by death of 2 children in Hillbrow apartment fire

Below are some comments:

@ThamiM01 wished:

"Condolences to the families."

@gonca_tu asked:

"How do you lock kids of that age in a room and leave them alone? Arrest the parents, both deserve jail time."

@LiberalsAreNaiv questioned:

"Charge their parents/guardians with double murder."

@JaneOlivetree exclaimed:

"This is murder. What kind of being does this? Only human monsters."

Limpopo farm torched by group of angry villagers following family arrest for abduction, murder

In another story, Briefly News reported a group of suspected vigilantes is wanted by the Limpopo police in connection with burning an Elandskraal farm in Morarela village on Sunday, 18 June.

The suspects are said to have gone on a rampage after they suspected a Limpopo businesswoman, her son and two relatives of abducting and killing a local man.