Scenes of violence and looting intensify in South Africa.
The authorities count "72 dead and 1,234 arrests", according to a police statement.
A previous report reported 45 dead, mainly in jostling and riots during looting.
Despite the authorities' call for calm and the deployment of some 2,500 troops, thousands of South Africans continued to flock on Tuesday to strip hangars and stores in several cities across the country.
Most of the deaths were caused by stampede during looting of shops and malls
Police, who were quickly overwhelmed by the scale of the events, said 27 people were killed in Kwazulu-Natal province in the east of the country and 45 in Gauteng, which is the country's largest city, Johannesburg.
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South Africa plagued by looting
Most of the deaths occurred during "jostling during looting of shops and malls", while other deaths and injuries are linked "to explosions of ATMs and shootings," police said. .
The first incidents in the country, roads blocked and trucks set on fire, broke out on Friday, the day after the imprisonment in Zulu country of former President Jacob Zuma, sentenced to a prison sentence for contempt of justice.
Violence, looting and fires then spread this weekend to the metropolitan area of Johannesburg, the economic capital of the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday evening that if the "frustrations and anger" expressed had "political roots", "no cause can justify" this violence.
Jacob Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison after repeatedly refusing to testify in state corruption investigations during his presidency (2009-2018).