Two infants‚ aged six months and 12 months‚ burnt to death in a bedroom of a house at a military base in Dunnottar‚ Springs‚ Ekhuruleni police said on Monday.
A fire broke out in a room where the babies were sleeping on Sunday afternoon‚ said Captain Johannes Ramphora.
“The babies were sleeping in a room upstairs and the heater was on. It seems like the heater exploded and the blankets caught fire‚” said Ramphora.
The house owner‚ who is a mother to one of the children‚ was not present at the time.
Her child and her brother and his infant as well as a domestic worker were in the house.
“The woman (domestic worker) and the man were downstairs when they smelt something burning. The man rushed upstairs and found the entire room in flames‚” Ramphora said.
The distraught man made his way into the burning room and tried to rescue the children.
Police and paramedics rushed to the house and managed to get him out of the burning room.
He was badly burnt in the blaze.
“It was bad. His entire body was burnt‚” said Ramphora.
The children however‚ were certified dead on the scene.
A forensic investigation would be conducted to determine what had caused the explosion.
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