A firefighter works at the scene of a deadly fire which occurred in the early hours of the morning in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Shiraaz Mohamed Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - More than 70 people were killed overnight when fire raged through a five-storey Johannesburg apartment block that may have been rented out illegally, known as a "hijacked building":WHAT ARE HIJACKED BUILDINGS AND WHEN DID THE ISSUE BEGIN? In some instances, the syndicates occupied buildings with fraudulent title deeds, said Angela Rivers, general manager at Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association. Rivers said she was aware of 57 known hijacked buildings in the Central Business District alone, mostly owned by the city or the provincial government. Lebogang Isaac Maile, the head of the Human Settlements department for Gauteng province, said 23 hijacked buildings had been identified in Johannesburg as in need of development.

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Persons: Shiraaz Mohamed, Angela Rivers, Rivers, Kabelo Gwamanda, Edward Molopi, Lebogang Isaac Maile, Bhargav Acharya, Catherine Schenck, Tim Cocks, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Association, Central Business District, Economic Rights Institute, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG, South Africa's, Gauteng