Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi's daughter Princess Phumzile Buthelezi was one of two people treated for smoke inhalation at Durban's landmark Blue Waters Hotel on Wednesday.
"I was in my room on the fifth floor and did not hear the fire alarm. I was shocked and scared when I heard banging on the door. Firemen helped me down the stairs‚" she said.
Speaking from outside the 262-room hotel on the Marine Parade‚ Buthelezi‚ who walks with the aid of a walking stick‚ said her blood pressure was high and she was having difficulty walking as her knee and spine brace were still in the room.
Thick black smoke was seen rising out of the hotel early on Wednesday.
- Watch: Thick smoke rises from Durban beachfront hotel A hotel employee said a transformer near the basement exploded at about 6.30am. Staff immediately activated the fire drill and guests were led from the building.
Martinus Baumbach was sitting on the hotel balcony when the fire siren was activated.
"I looked over the balcony and saw staff members walking out the hotel. I woke my partner‚ grabbed our travel documents and ID and cellphones and made our way out the building. I did not see any smoke until we got out the building‚" he told TMG Digital.
According to a hotel employee‚ who requested not to be named‚ a transformer near the basement exploded at about 6.30am.
Staff immediately activated the fire drill and guests were led from the building. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation.
A resident‚ Penelope Larkin‚ who lives behind the hotel at Kirsten Grove‚ said she was drinking tea when her friend went on to the balcony at about 6.45am and saw smoke come from the hotel.
"I saw a huge cloud of black smoke‚" said Larkin.
Leon Fourie of Life Response 24/7 said they had dispatched paramedics after hearing that the hotel was on fire.
"When we got there we found eThekwini Fire Department dousing the flames. A transformer in the basement caught alight and caused some damage. We treated two patients on the fourth and eighth floor of the building for smoke inhalation‚” he said.
The fire was extinguished at about 8:30am. Damage was reported to be mostly superficial‚ with broken glass.
Hotel management could not be immediately be reached for comment. - TMG Digital/The Times
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