Fire kills two on Bela Bela resort

An elderly couple from Naboomspruit died in a fire at the Sondela resort near Bela-Bela.

The devastating blaze broke out outside the resort and swept through the premises with such speed that guests were not able to retrieve their belongings on Saturday Beeld reported..

Resort staff managed to evacuate around 500 other guests, but they did not manage to save Ig van Rooyen, 76, and his wife Nita, 75, the paper reported.

According to Ian Jansen van Rensburg, Sondela's managing director, by the time people realised that the Van Rooyen couple were missing, their chalet had already caught fire.

The couple had been staying in the chalet with Nita van Rooyen's brother, Horace Geyer, who thought they had followed him when he ran to safety.

Twenty people sustained light injuries, and ten others were treated in hospital with burn injuries.

An estimated 1500 of veld in the adjacent nature reserve burnt before fire fighters brought the fire under control, and resort staff later had to euthanase many severely injured wildlife species.