6 Family Members Killed in Horrific Fire in Ekurhuleni, South Africans Shaken

• South Africans were horrified after six family members died in a fire shack in KwaThema, Ekurhuleni
• A fire spread through the shack and a family was trapped inside, unable to escape the blaze
• They were burned beyond recognition and a seven year-old child survived the blaze, leaving netizens distraught

For seven years, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

KWATHEMA, EKURHULENI — A little girl was the sole survivor of a terrible fire that engulfed her family's shack and killed six family members in Kwa-Thema, Ekurhuleni on 26 May 2025.

Ekurhuleni informal settlement blaze kills 6

According to SABC News, the cause of the fire is unknown, Emergency Services arrived on the scene at 3 am and found that the fire had engulfed the entire shack. The family members were trapped inside.

Members of the community were already battling to extinguish the blaze. Firefighters managed to extinguish it. However, it was not on time to save the lives of the family members. Six of them were burned beyond recognition. A seven year-old survived and was rushed to the nearest hospital where she is being treated for critical injuries.

Similar fires in South Africa

• A family of three were killed after a fire burned down seven shacks in an informal settlement in Cape Town, Western Cape in February 2024
• Two children lost their lives in a shack fire in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni n September 2024, and community members extinguished the fire but could not save the children
• Thousands were displaced after two fires destroyed shacks in Johannesburg and Pretoria informal settlements in September
• An informal settlement was razed to the ground in a fire in Bryanston, Johannesburg in December, and no injuries were reported
• More than 130 residents of the Langa township in Cape Town lost their homes after a fire destroyed eight hostels and 25 shacks

South Africans horrified

Netizens commenting on SABC News' Facebook post were stunned.

Malan Frans Moropa said:

"May their souls rest in perfect peace. Condolences to the family."

Sharon Struckmeyer said:

"And winter hasn't even kicked in yet. It's going to be cold this year, and we are going to have a lot of people suffering the consequences of lighting fires in their homes."

Mercy Doreen Breda said:

"What a sad way to start the week. May their souls rest in everlasting peace."

Aya Nda said:

"These hacks must be placed at safe distances and not built close to each other."

Amaluks Ndhuku said:

"The problem with these squatter camps is that they are always congested."

Three children died in Bloemfontein fire

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that three children and a woman died in a horrific shack fire in Bloemfontein in March 2025. The mother and her children were asleep when the shack caught fire.

Her eldest son had gone to the shops and locked them in when the fire broke out. The government pledged to assist the man, who had lost family members and identify documents.

Source: Briefly News