Mother throws baby from burning building in South Africa

A desperate mother was forced to throw her baby from a burning building in the South African city of Durban after looters set fire to shops on the ground floor.

The woman was seen dropping the child down to a crowd of bystanders with their arms outstretched as smoke billowed around her.

The baby escaped unhurt and was later reunited with its mother, Yahoo News reported, quoting the BBC.

It was one of countless scenes that have left South Africans in shock after six days of looting and arson in Johannesburg and KwaZulu Natal.

Seventy-two people have died and more than 1,200 people arrested, according to official figures, since former president Jacob Zuma began a 15-month jail term, sparking protests that swiftly turned violent.

Looting has hit supply chains and transport links especially in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, impacting goods and services around the country

The government said 208 incidents of looting and vandalism were recorded Wednesday, as the number of troops deployed doubled to 5,000.

President Cyril Ramaphosa met leaders of political parties and cautioned that parts of the country “may soon be running short of basic provisions following the extensive disruption of food, fuel and medicine supply chains”.

State-owned logistics operator Transnet declared a “force majeure” on Wednesday — an emergency beyond its control — on a key rail line that links Johannesburg to the coast because of the unrest.

In the port city of Durban, hundreds of people queued outside food stores hours before they opened, as lines of cars also formed outside fuel stations, an AFP photographer saw.