Six family members died when their shack caught fire in the Marikana informal settlement in Ekurhuleni on Monday, leaving one survivor: a young girl who's in a critical condition in hospital.
According to Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesperson William Tladi, the fire broke out in the early hours of Monday, destroying a four-room shack where a family of seven were sleeping.
It’s difficult for us now to identify who is who. Just a little bit of one or two of them can be identified by the families. But we have the names of the entire family and their ages. We’re working carefully and delicately to recover their remains from beneath the rubble, one by one
— William Tladi, Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesperson
Emergency services received a call at 3.08am.
By the time they arrived, the shack was engulfed in flame. Despite community members’ brave attempts to extinguish the fire using buckets and water containers, the flames had taken a deadly toll.
“Among the deceased are two toddlers, one [was] 18 months old, the other four years. They were burnt beyond recognition,” said Tladi.
“Two more children, aged 12 and 20, also perished in the fire. Their bodies, like those of their parents (the mother aged 42 and the father 47) were so severely burnt that identifying them has become a heartbreaking challenge for authorities and family members.
“It’s difficult for us now to identify who is who. Just a little bit of one or two of them can be identified by the families. But we have the names of the entire family and their ages. We’re working carefully and delicately to recover their remains from beneath the rubble, one by one.”
The only survivor, believed to be a seven-year-old girl, was found with critical burn wounds and was privately transported to hospital for emergency treatment. Her condition remains critical.
Tladi said the layout of the informal settlement helped prevent the blaze spreading. “The informal settlement has been restructured more formally, with space between the homes. So while the four-roomed shack burnt down completely, the neighbouring structures survived.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown. Police and forensic experts are investigating. The authorities are managing the scene, including the removal of the bodies to a pathology facility for further analysis.
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