Arson investigated after fire destroys vehicles at Nyanga taxi rank

Police reinforcements have been deployed at a taxi rank in Cape Town where 18 vehicles were damaged or destroyed by a blaze on Sunday night.

Detectives are investigating a case of arson at the rank in Nyanga, said police spokesperson Brig Novela Potelwa.

Thirteen minibus taxis, four sprinter buses and a civilian vehicle were gutted or damaged.

“Many vehicles were on fire when crews arrived at the scene. Their efforts to extinguish the blaze were hampered by strong winds, but they managed to extinguish the fire at 11.40pm,” said fire and rescue services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse.

No arrests have been made yet. The taxi rank remains open to commuters.

Carelse said firefighting teams were also deployed to a blaze that started in Masiphumelele at 5am on Monday.

“Crews are at the scene and some vehicles are positioned near Lake Michelle.  

“Our incident management team for area south is at the scene to co-ordinate operations. Two divisions have been established, with crews in one division attending to informal structures and the rest working to contain the fire in reeds,” said Carlese.

A fire that broke out at Red Hill was brought under control on Sunday after destroying about 116ha of land.  

“The fire was reported at 3pm [on Saturday] in the Redhill informal settlement and spread rapidly due to strong south-easterly winds,” said SANParks.  

“Hiking trails will remain closed on Monday as a precaution during mopping up operations.”

SANParks thanked firefighters, aerial resources, rangers and the communications team at the dispatch centre for their hard work during the operation. 

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