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Arrest Made in Deadly 2023 Building Fire in Johannesburg

by VOA News

   Authorities in South Africa have arrested a man in connection with the
   deaths of 76 people in a massive building fire in Johannesburg last
   August.

   The suspect is a 29-year-old man who confessed while testifying during
   a public inquiry into the cause of the tragedy.

   The man, who police have yet to identify, also will be charged with 120
   counts of attempted murder and charges of arson, according to a police
   statement.

   The fire, one of the worst disasters in South Africa's history,
   occurred in an abandoned five story building in downtown Johannesburg
   that had been taken over by criminal gangs who rented living quarters
   to squatters.

   Most of the victims in the August 31 fire were foreign migrants.

   Some information for this report came from The Associated Press,
   Reuters, Agence France-Presse.