It had been leased to an NGO, but they are nowhere to be seen.

The officials blamed criminal "cartels" who "prey on poor and vulnerable people" by taking over - or "hijacking" - buildings and then dangerously overfilling them.

In response to a question about whether his administration would take responsibility for the tragedy, Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda defended his council saying it was dealing with the problem of hijacking and had already tackled the issue in other parts of the city.

Lebogang Maile, the politician responsible for housing in the local province, said there was a chronic problem with housing in the area, with 1.2 million people needing somewhere to live.