At least 63 dead, 43 injured in apartment block inferno in Johannesburg

Colombo (News 1st) - UPDATE: At least 63 people were killed and 43 injured when fire raged through a 5-storey apartment block in the South African city of Johannesburg early Thursday, foreign media reported.

It was not clear what caused the blaze in the city centre. The building housed mainly migrant workers from other countries.

As dawn broke, firefighters were carrying out the grim task of going floor to floor and bringing out bodies which were stacked on the street before being taken away in ambulances.