A 14-year-old boy‚ whose sibling and three cousins died in a devastating fire in Alexandra at the weekend‚ has been left traumatised‚ the Gauteng Department of Social Development said on Monday.
Department spokesman Mbangwa Xaba said MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza was expected to visit the teen and his family on Tuesday.
Xaba confirmed that the boy was in the house when it caught alight.
"Mayathula-Khoza said the boy is one of the five children of two sisters who locked their children in the house the whole night while they went on a drinking spree. [He] was traumatised‚ vulnerable and in need of protection and care‚" Xaba said in a statement.
"She said her visit to the family is to ensure the boys’ well being and for family trauma counselling. The MEC has already dispatched a team of social workers to work with the family members who witnessed the accident‚" he added.