2 people died and about 900 were displaced after a fire ripped through QQ squatter camp and New Village in Strand.
The fire in QQ section, Khayelitsha, in the Western Cape destroyed nine shacks in the early hours of Monday morning, killing a mum and daughter.
Zuziwe Ngcibi (55) and daughter Zikhona (18) were asleep when the fire struck. Residents tried to put out the fire but it was too strong.
Zikhona’s aunt, Vuyokazi Ngcibi (32), told Daily Sun that a neighbour woke them at about 1am, alerting them to the fire.
“We are deeply disturbed as a family by this tragic incident. I was with Zuziwe and Zikhona yesterday. We watched TV together,” said Vuyokazi.
“Zikhona was in matric and was telling me she would pass her exams. I suspect electric wires caused the fire. Heavy winds also made it difficult to put it out.”
The fire in Strand started at about 9pm on Sunday evening and destroyed 400 shacks. A woman fire- fighter was injured and had to be taken to hospital. Her colleagues battled the fire for more than two hours.
Another fire-fighter at the scene told Daily Sun: “The wind made it hard for us to contain the fire. To make things worse, the shacks are too close to each other and it was hard to pass through the gaps.”
Affected residents were forced to sleep in the open veld.
Police said the cause of the fire was unknown but inquest dockets were opened.
Meanwhile, a man burned to death in a fire that destroyed four shacks in Dunoon’s Siyahlala squatter camp. The fire started just before 9pm on Saturday.
0 Comments