A significant part of Durban’s busy north beach precinct was cloaked in darkness after a fire at a city centre substation claimed the life of a man on Thursday night - and caused a widespread power outage.
Paramedics and firefighters responded to the scene and found black smoke billowing from the electrical station‚ built into the ground floor of a parking garage. It is understood that the doors to the transformer room were controlled by city officials‚ but had been prised open by vagrants in search of shelter.
From the roadside‚ the charred remains of a man could be seen slumped against the power infrastructure.
eThekwini Metro fighters quickly extinguished the blaze‚ with onlookers held back by a wide cordon.
Buildings in the area without backup generators were in darkness.
RescueCare spokesman Garrith Jamieson said that the man had sustained extensive injuries and was declared dead at the scene.
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