Five people, including two children, two men and one woman died in a fire in Kleinvlei, Cape Town, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Three more people, including one adult and two children, have been transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of burn wounds and smoke inhalation.
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After receiving an alert of a fire in Belladonna Street shortly after 1am, crews from Mfuleni, Kuilsriver, Strand and Belhar were dispatched to the scene, according to City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse.
Arriving on the scene, a formal dwelling and three informal structures were found alight.
‘Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze that partially damaged the formal dwelling and destroyed three informal structures,’ said Carelse.
The bodies of the two minors and three adults were recovered with fatal burn wounds and declared dead on the scene.
Some reports say the deceased were a mother, father, two sons and a grandchild.
‘The cause of this fire is unknown, and the scene was handed over to the South African Police Service,’ added Carelse.
Kleinvlei Community Policing Forum chairperson Hubert Kemp told News24 that a candle lit during loadshedding caused the blaze.
‘Unfortunately, the candle was left unattended to which is very sad,’ Kemp said.
Our sincerest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased and all those affected by this fire incident.
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Picture: Joachim Preesl / Unsplash