Disabled Sisters in Shack Fire: 1 Dead, 1 Hospitalised; RDP Housing Too Late

• Nomthandazo Hlomendlini died, and her sister, Xola, burnt when a pillow fell on a heater and caught fire
• RDP housing applications for the two disabled women were made in 2019 without success
• The Gauteng MEC for the Department of Human Settlements, Ms Tasneem Motara, visited the victims of a recent house fire in Ekurhuleni

On Wednesday, 14 August, a house fire left an entire family without accommodation. Twin girls living with disability were affected by the blaze, with one passing away.

Family spokesperson gives her account of the tragedy

“They saw when the fire started but struggled to move and theirs screams were not loud enough to be heard. That day, it was cold and most people had closed themselves inside their houses, and people recognised when it was too late that it was burning,” the cousin, Phaello Mmole told Times Live.

Read also

Student in Cape Town shows mouldy accommodation in video, SA reacts

Mmole went on to add that another cousin had rushed to the scene:

“My other cousin [who stayed a few houses away] saw smoke while she was in the garden and went to investigate and found people there trying to save them,”

Xola Hlomendlini was the only sister saved, as the fire had already spread throughout the shack.

MEC visit to the area and those affected

MEC Motara began visiting the site where the house burnt down to see the destruction and damage from the fire. They then proceeded to the hospital where Xola, the surviving sister, was receiving treatment, as well as others who were injured.

The Department has vowed a timely approach to the situation with assistance to the family, coming in the form of psychological help and relocating them.

Read also

SA furious as State withdraws case against the 95 Libyans arrested in Mpumalanga

May the life lost to the fire, may her soul find peace.

Veld fire claims lives in KZN

Briefly News earlier reported that a veld fire that swept through sections of Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal resulted in one fatality and caused damage to more than 80 homes. The blaze is said to have left approximately 53 individuals without shelter, harmed infrastructure, ravaged cane fields, and resulted in the death of livestock.

The province's Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs was coordinating relief efforts for those affected by the disaster.

Source: Briefly News