Toddlers Perish in Shack Fire, Community Try in Vain to Save 2-Year-Old and 10-Week-Old Siblings
- A two-year-old boy and his 10-week-old baby sister were killed when a fire broke out in their shack
- The children's mother is believed to have been cooking on a paraffin stove before leaving the shack
- Community members formed a bucket relay system to put out the fire but couldn't save the toddlers
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues.
VOSLOORUS - Two minors were tragically killed in a shack fire earlier today (10 September 2024).
A two-year-old boy and his 10-week-old baby sister were alone in a shack when a blaze broke out.
Source: Getty Images
It's believed that the children's mother was cooking on a paraffin stove before leaving the premises to attend to something else.
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The incident took place in the Colgate informal settlement, Vosloorus.
Community formed bucket relay system
According to a statement from the City of Ekurhuleni's Emergency Services, firefighters were called out to the scene, where they found the bodies of the children in the wreckage.
They also credited community members for forming a relay system with buckets of water to combat the fire.
While community members ensured that the blaze was extinguished, they could not do so in time to save the children.
47 Homeless after Cape Town fires
The tragedy is just the latest in several fire-related disasters gripping the country. In Dunoon, Cape Town, at least 47 people were left homeless after a fire swept through the Siyahlala informal settlement.
The City of Cape Town's Disaster Risk Management confirmed that the blaze destroyed 25 shacks and one RDP house.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, but no casualties were reported.
2 Killed in Cape Town fire
A woman and a young girl were tragically killed when a house caught fire in Mitchell's Plain, Cape Town.
The incident happened in the early hours of the morning on 22 July 2024, Briefly News noted.
Two people were treated for smoke inhalation, while another woman and a young girl suffered fatal burn wounds.
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Source: Briefly News
