“It’s Someone’s Fault”: Mossel Bay Informal Settlement on Fire in Video, South Africa Mortified

• A motorist was recording and captured a shack that was on fire at JCC Camp, an informal settlement in Mossel Bay
• The coastal town's Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management responded to reports of raging flames at the informal settlement near Diaz Beach on 2 June 2026
• Authorities are yet to determine the cause, but the accident occurred during xenophobic violence in Mossel Bay

The video shared on 2 June 2026 shows emergency responders and firefighters actively battling the aggressive fire. The flames threatened to tear through the closely packed shacks in JCC Camp. Mossel Bay disaster management officials were on-site to provide relief.

According to footage posted by Michael de Nobrega on Facebook, a fire broke out inside an informal settlement. Mossel Bay Advertiser reported that fire and rescue teams took control of the situation and prevented further risk to the surrounding area. Officials from the Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management department ensured the fire was fully extinguished. No details regarding potential casualties or the extent of the property damage have been officially confirmed. Watch the video of firefighters on the scene:

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Mossel Bay worries South Africa

Viewers expressed concern about the JCC Camp, as reports from local authorities indicate that the fires were not isolated accidents. A period of intense violent unrest and destructive fires has left a trail of devastation across the KwaNonqaba area of Mossel Bay, resulting in confirmed fatalities and the destruction of dozens of homes. Read people's comments:

Helena Cornelia Bos remarked:

"Hope this doesn’t escalate.. Not good at all to take the law into your own hands. My domestic helper has been legal in Mossel Bay for 20 years with documents. Very good, hard-working people. Let me know that they are scared and don't know if they are going to stay longer; these are good people without handouts.."

Jerome Steenkamp added:

"Tomorrow, it's someone's fault because they could not help get to the area on time."

Annamarie Janse van Vuuren said:

"They should have never allowed it in the first place to stick and live there because some of those places are on the edge, a wonder that the wind and rain haven't blown it there yet."

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Andre Janse van Rensburg pointed fingers:

"This is because the DA municipality allowed the march and didn't stop. There was no legal request for the march, and now foreigners who WANT to work are rushing."

Letitia Senekal

"All properties in the areas where people live in shacks brings down the investment of a property owner that battled to pay the mortgage, etc."

Other Briefly News stories about Mossel Bay

• The teen who was killed in Mossel Bay was allegedly stealing, and his murder may not be connected to xenophobic attacks
• South Africans were stunned by a TikTok video of the dramatic changes to Diaz Beach after its shoreline was reshaped.
• A strange cloud that formed over Mossel Bay amassed attention on social media as TikTok viewers speculated about it.

Source: Briefly News