Shack dwellers from the Gushindoda informal settlement in Kuyasa were left devastated after three family members burned beyond recognition in a shack fire on Sunday, 2 August. One shack was affected and the cause of the incident is still unknown.

One of the residents, Nomnikelo Nyakavula, said the fire started around 01:00.

Residents battle flames in Gushindoda 

“I heard people making noise outside and went out to see. I saw big flames and people were trying to extinguish the flames using buckets and sand. They managed to stop the flames before they spread to other shacks,” she said.

She said all three family members, a husband, wife and child, died inside the shack.

According to Nyakavula, there were other relatives who were in the shack when the incident started.

Wife dies trying to rescue child

“According to the report I received, there were two other people related to the deceased who were also sleeping there. The relatives were sleeping in front, and the family was in the bedroom. When the relatives woke up, the flames had already engulfed the bedroom, but they managed to escape unharmed. Even the wife managed to escape, but she went back to rescue the child and never came back,” explained Nyakavula, adding that two bodies, the husband and child were discovered inside the bedroom, while the wife’s body was found in the dining room.

She described the incident as terrible and traumatic. She stated that they tried to stop the wife before she went back into the fire, but she overpowered them.

ALSO READ: Tragic shack fire claims lives of three young residents in Strand

Fire & Rescue responds to Ntlazane Road blaze

The City’s Fire & Rescue Services spokesperson, Michael Abrahams, said the service received a call at 01:03 reporting a structure alight in Ntlazane Road, Kuyasa, on Sunday, 2 August.

“Crews from Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and Mfuleni responded. One wood-and-iron structure was extinguished. There were three fatalities: one adult male, one adult female and a male minor,” said Abrahams, adding that the cause of the fire is not yet known.