Family and friends gathered outside the modest double-storey home on Larch Road‚ in disbelief that the Munjra family‚ who had moved in recently‚ perished in the fire that was started at about 3am.
A husband and wife‚ a 65-year old woman and the couple's children‚ a girl aged 15 and a 10-year old boy‚ had lived in a flat in Pietermaritzburg before moving to the house.
Police spokesman Sergeant Mthokozisi Ngobese said initial investigations showed the fire was deliberate. "Police are investigating five counts of arson and murder."
A family member didn't want to comment‚ saying the family were too distraught.
A neighbour said the fire has left her terrified.
"The Munjra family had recently moved into the house and this happens. I am too afraid to talk."
A former neighbour of the Munjra family‚ who also didn't want to be identified‚ said he worked in a shop in central Pietermaritzburg and that they were a "very nice" family.
Earlier in the day‚ ER24’s Werner Vermaak said: “Shortly after 3am‚ emergency services arrived on the scene. The local fire department extinguished the fire. They found five people inside the house and brought them outside. Three adults and two people‚ believed to be children‚ were found with fatal injuries.”
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