Infant among 9 dead in Joburg informal settlement fire (video)

Nine people including an infant have perished in a devastating fire that spread through a section of the Gezeni informal settlement in Jeppestown, Johannesburg in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

City of Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Nana Radebe confirmed the incident to The Citizen. 

Johannesburg EMS crews at the scene. The burnt-out structure in the background is where the blaze took place.

She said the cause of the blaze had not been confirmed, but the fire started in a “structure that houses shacks inside it”. 

The blaze in the early hours of the morning.

This resulted in the fire spreading rapidly through shacks located close together. 

City of Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo is scheduled to visit the disaster site on Wednesday afternoon.

In a statement, the City said multiple injuries had also been incurred in the fire.