CAPE TOWN – Three people were burned beyond recognition in a shack fire at the Kosovo informal settlement in Samora Machel early this morning. At least six shacks were destroyed, leaving 14 people displaced. The cause of the incident remains unknown.
Shack fire survivor Nombulelo Thangana said the devastation began shortly after 03:00
“I honestly don’t know what caused the shack fire. I was sleeping when I heard people shouting ‘Fire! Fire!’ When I went outside to check, my neighbor’s shack was already engulfed in flames,” she said, adding that she lost everything in the fire.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, said they were alerted at approximately 03:05 about informal structures on fire at the Kosovo informal settlement in Philippi.
“Several crews responded to the scene, and firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze by 04:30. Our initial assessment indicates that six structures were destroyed, leaving 14 people displaced. The bodies of three people—gender and ages unknown—were discovered with fatal burn injuries,” Carelse stated.
