Young siblings die in house fire
Two siblings die in a fire that is suspected to have been caused by a two-plate stove.
Tsakani – The Mthetwa family is reeling with grief after two siblings, aged three months and three years, perished in a fire last Wednesday.
The two children were sleeping in the family’s living room when the fire started.
Their grieving mother, Nomthandazo Mthetwa explained that together with her boyfriend, they had been watching movies when at about 03:00 they decided to go sleep in the bedroom.
“I left the children sleeping on the couch to prepare the bed and after a short while, I heard the three-year-old calling me.
“I promised her that I was coming as I was finishing up making the bed. When I was finally done I opened the bedroom door and the house was covered in smoke,” she explained.
The 27-year-old mother added that she tried finding her way through but the smoke and flames made it impossible.
“I could not see anything. We were trapped inside the house until I was rescued by one of the neighbours who pulled me through a window.
“While outside, we tried to break the living room burglar door to rescue the children but we failed,” she added.
Nomthandazo suspects the fire was started by a two-plate stove they had been using to warm themselves.
She suspects the three-year-old might have turned in her sleep and her blanket fell on the stove and caught alight.
The mother added that she is haunted by her daughter crying for help.
“I keep hearing her calling my name and I could not help her,” she added.
The two children were declared dead on the scene by paramedics.
Tsakani police spokesperson Sgt Lerato Mngomezulu said they have opened an inquest and investigations are still underway.
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