A pregnant woman and her one-year-old baby died after a devastating fire broke out at Seacow Lake in Durban.
The fire which broke out in the early hours of Sunday destroyed over 250 shacks and left scores of people homeless.
Speaking to IOL, Gift of the Givers spokesperson in KZN, Bilall Jeewa, said they were at the scene trying to provide aid to the victims.
“The fire broke out around 1am and people haven’t eaten since. So we brought some warm food so that they can eat while they are busy re-constructing their shacks,” he said.
Jeewa told IOL that it was still unclear what caused the fire, however, residents are saying it started in the shack occupied by the pregnant woman.
“Its suspected that she could have fallen asleep and probably the paraffin stove toppled over and caused the fire,” he said.
Jeewa added that besides the death of the two people, there we no injuries and other fatalities reported.
In an unrelated matter last month, a pregnant woman and her small child managed to escape after their shack caught fire in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.
In a video circulating on social media, neighbours are seen running in urgency, carrying small buckets with water in an effort to extinguish the inferno.
The mother and child were rushed to hospital after they were burned in the fire.
Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Nana Kgiba said they received inquiries about the incident, however, EMS did not receive a call and they do not have a record of the incident.
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IOL News