North West: Family killed in Christiana house fire

At least five members of one family have been confirmed dead after a fire ravaged their home in Marikana Geluksoord in the early hours of Sunday morning, 17 July 2022, the South African Police Service (SAPS) in North West have said..

“It is alleged that a man went out of his house at about 03:30 and noticed a smoke coming out of a neighbour’s house. He rushed to the house and found all doors locked and windows closed. The man ran back to his house where he fetched an iron rod. While alerting others about the incident, he went back to the house where he broke and opened all the doors and the windows,” said provincial SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone in a statement.

NORTH WEST HOUSE FIRE BEING PROBED

According to North West SAPS, after the smoke subsided after the fire, the man and other neighbours entered the house and discovered that the ceiling and a few household goods had burned. They also made a gruesome discovery – the bodies of two children, aged 8 and 15 in the sitting room.

While in the other room,  they found the body of a three-year-old boy child. The two bodies of the couple, aged 38 and 48 were found in the main bedroom.

“All the victims were declared dead at the scene by Emergency Medical and Rescue Services (EMRS) paramedics. The cause of the fire is unknown and no foul play is suspected at this stage. Investigation into the matter continues,” Mokgwabone said.

Meanwhile in KZN, an elderly woman died last month following a Mosley Park house fire in Durban.

“Just after 16h30 on Wednesday Emer-G-Med paramedics responded to the scene of a house fire in Glen Place in the Mosley Park area, west of Durban.

Reports from the scene are that an elderly female was declared dead on arrival of paramedics after suffering fatal burn injuries when her home caught fire,” part of the report read.

Emer-G-Med went on to state that the blaze, which its cause is unknown, was extinguished by members of the Ethekwini Fire and Rescue services.