Joburg fire 'a great tragedy' - Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the Johannesburg CBD fire that killed at least 73 people as a great tragedy.
The blaze at the hijacked building broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning, leaving dozens of others injured.
READ: Joburg fire: Security gate closed, people couldn't get out - Tshwaku
Ramaphosa says the nation's hearts go out to every person affected by the disaster and has sent condolences to the families.
"This is a great tragedy felt by families whose loved ones perished in this awful manner, and our hearts go out to every person affected by this event.
“This incident calls on all of us, from the emergency services and other entities of government to community-based organisations, to reach out to survivors to help restore people’s physical, and psychological wellbeing and offer all material help residents may need."
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Former resident Afikile Madi says she moved out of the building four years ago.
She says the occupants are a mix of South Africans and foreign nationals.
"It started with South Africans, then moved to foreigners, so they took advantage of the people who didn't have papers. I am sure most of the people who died here are those people because they were still staying on the third floor, all of them. There was a lot of Malawians and Tanzanians staying there."
