South African man confesses starting fire which killed 76 to conceal murder

Police arrest 29-year-old after he tells tower block fire inquiry he was trying to dispose of body of man he had strangled

Police in South Africa have arrested a man who claimed responsibility for starting a fire that killed 76 people last year, after he said he ignited the blaze while trying to dispose of the body of a man he had strangled.

The shocking and unexpected confession came when the man was testifying at an inquiry into the causes of the fire in August at an apartment building in downtown Johannesburg, which was one of South Africa’s worst disasters.