Three killed in Masiphumelele shack blaze
Three people have been killed in a fire in Masiphumelele, on the Cape Peninsula, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The City's Fire and Rescue Service was alerted just after 2am that structures were burning in Sobukwe Road.
"Crews from Kommetjie fire station were the first to be dispatched. From a distance they could see the raging flames and immediately called for additional support. In total there were six fire engines and three water tankers on the scene as well as more than 40 staff," said spokesperson for the City's Fire and Rescue Services, Jermaine Carelse.
He said by 5.45am firefighters managed to contain and extinguish the fire which had destroyed several informal structures, leaving a number of people displaced.
"The bodies of the two men and a woman, who had sustained fatal burn wounds, were found among the debris around 5am," he said.
The fire comes hours after hundreds of people were displaced following a fire in Du Noon. At least 300 people were left homeless. Gift of the Givers, the South African Social Security Agency are among those assisting displaced residents.
"When our teams got here, the fire department was still busy putting out the fire. Community members, most of whom were at work, completely (lost) everything and as we were still busy on the fire site, a few community members who came back from work came shouting and running, hoping that their structures were not burnt," said Gift of the Givers project manager Ali Sablay.
Carelse said that at this stage it has been reported that approximately 200 structures had been destroyed by the blaze, however, Western Cape Disaster Management Centre would report on the correct totals once registration has been completed.
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