Grandmother’s heartrending screams for help as fire destroys farm outside Port Elizabeth

A grandmother’s heartrending screams for help in a desperate last call to her grandson as the flames devoured her home.

A frantic dash by her sons to save her and their father foiled by a wall of fire and police who held them back for their own safety.

This is the harrowing picture that emerged following the tragic death of an elderly Thornhill couple‚ trapped by a runaway fire that changed direction suddenly and was upon them within the blink of an eye.

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Walter van der Riet‚ 73‚ and his wife‚ Myrna‚ 72‚ were trapped after the fire tore through their farm and the garage roof collapsed on their car.

Myrna was found dead several metres from the house‚ near to the garage.

Just metres from her‚ Walter was alive but badly burnt and struggling to breathe. He died at 5am on Sunday.

• 'Angry Mother Nature can destroy anything and anyone' 

Devastated family members wandered around the Langlaagte farm on Sunday‚ surveying the damage.

Full story in The Herald