Nursing students narrowly escape fiery death after arsonists lock them in residence

Nursing students at Giyani Nursing College in Limpopo narrowly escaped death after their residence was set alight by unknown people on Saturday morning.

Items such as beds, chairs, wardrobes and blankets were destroyed after the arsonists allegedly poured paraffin and locked the main entrance to the residential block before setting it alight.

Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said a case of arson was being investigated and no arrests had been made.

The affected students were expected to undergo counselling at the weekend.

Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba has called on community members to assist the police with information that could lead to the arrests of the arsonists.

“The arsonists allegedly gained entrance to the student residential building, poured paraffin on the walls inside and locked the main exit of the block with a chain and a padlock before setting the block alight. Students who were inside the residence had to break down one of the glass doors to exit the building,” said Ramathuba.

She added: “The department is conducting an internal investigation to establish if there were any security breaches.”

The department said the damage caused by the fire was yet to be quantified.

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