At least 58 people have been killed in a fire in a multi-storey building in South Africa’s biggest city, authorities have said.

Officials said dozens more were also injured in the blaze in Johannesburg, which broke out in the middle of the night.

Robert Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the emergency services, has warned the number of fatalities may rise further – as more people could be trapped inside.

At least one child is among the dead.

The building in the central business district has been described as an “informal settlement” where homeless people had moved in looking for accommodation without a formal lease agreement.

According to witnesses, at least 200 people may have been living there.

Firefighters evacuated occupants after arriving at the scene – but now, a search and recovery operation is under way. Bodies lay covered on the street.

Authorities said the fire had been largely extinguished, but smoke still seeped out of windows of the blackened building.

Firefighters work at the scene of a deadly blaze in the early hours of the morning, in Johannesburg, South Africa

Strings of sheets and other material hung out of windows – and it is unclear whether people were using them to try and escape.

The cause of the fire is yet to be established.