After deadly fire, homeless people salvage what they can from hijacked Jeppestown building
The hijacked three-storey building caught fire on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of four people and leaving three others seriously injured.
The aftermath of a building in Jeppestown that caught fire in the early hours of Sunday, 25 August 2024, claiming the lives of at least four people. Picture: Thabiso Goba / Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Homeless people have been scrounging around the remaining valuables from the burnt-down building in Jeppestown.
The hijacked three-storey building caught fire on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of four people and leaving three others seriously injured.
[JUST IN] Three people have died this morning from a building fire in Jeppestown, Johannesburg
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 25, 2024
Emergency services said the three-storey building caught fire around 1am however the cause of the fire is still unknown
Also 3 people injured.
Video supplied by Johannesburg EMS. TCG pic.twitter.com/ArnNpB75mv
The burnt down building was called ‘Enkanini’ by residents, in IsiZulu it means ‘a place of stubborn/defiance’
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 25, 2024
Tholakele Dlamini, a long-time resident, said they call it that because the municipality has tried to evict them a number of times before but they always return. TCG pic.twitter.com/BWIaISRbB6
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It has also left about 300 people displaced, who are currently being housed in temporary shelters provided by the City of Joburg.
On Monday morning, homeless people entered the building and took whatever valuables they could salvage from the fire.
The building, which residents referred to as Enkanini, is now a shell filled with ash and debris.
On Sunday, City Power officials confiscated all electrical cables from the building to ensure no one returns to live here again.
However, at this stage, the Johannesburg municipality does not have a plan for what it wants to do with this burnt-down building, which stands out as an eyesore.
However, the more immediate headache for the municipality is finding alternative accommodation for the more than 200 people who used to live here.
In a familiar scenario with these kind of tragedies, foreign nationals have been reluctant to come forward to be counted and transferred to temporary shelters.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 25, 2024
Dada Morero, Jhb mayor, said the city has no choice but to handover undocumented foreigners to Home Affairs. TCG pic.twitter.com/fSK02jMyLG
In a familiar scenario with these kind of tragedies, foreign nationals have been reluctant to come forward to be counted and transferred to temporary shelters.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 25, 2024
Dada Morero, Jhb mayor, said the city has no choice but to handover undocumented foreigners to Home Affairs. TCG pic.twitter.com/fSK02jMyLG