A man has been arrested after allegedly claiming responsibility for starting a building fire in South Africa which killed 76 people.

He allegedly sparked the blaze while trying to get rid of the body of someone he had killed.

The man’s apparent confession came as a shock when he was giving evidence at an ongoing inquiry in the Johannesburg fire’s cause.

In a surprise development, he said he had strangled a man in the basement of the rundown apartment complex before setting his body on fire, according to South African media reports of the evidence.

Police said later on Tuesday they had arrested a 29-year-old.

The man, who has not been named, is facing 76 counts of murder and 120 of attempted murder, and arson, police said in a statement.

The inquiry he was giving evidence at was established to look into the possible cause of the blaze.

It is not a criminal proceeding and the man’s confession was entirely unexpected.