VIDEO: Durban church razed to the ground, community left devastated
The church leaders said they are saddened by the fire and are awaiting the outcome of the investigation.
A FOLLOW up visit to Debre Bisrat St Gabriel Ethiopian Orthodox Church, in Tighard Avenue, earlier today, revealed scenes of devastation and destruction after a fire tore through the building on Sunday night.
Speaking about the blaze, secretary of the church, Serawit Demelew, said, “I got a call from the security guy who works for the church and he told me there was a fire at the church at 5.30pm. When I reached the church, the main gate was widely open and the security was waiting for help. When I looked at the roof, there was smoke coming from the top, but when we checked through the window, we didn’t see any fire inside,” said Demelew.
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“The fire started hitting hard. The windows and roof fell down. I rushed with my car to the nearest police station to seek help,” said Demelew.
He added that the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Demelew confirmed initial reports which stated there had been no injuries.
A church security guard, John Rihlampfu, who also cleans the building, said he was about to leave work when the fire started at about 5.20pm.
“When I called Demelew to let him know that the church was on fire, he didn’t believe it. I told him to send someone to extinguish the fire,” he said.
Biniyam Wolika, deputy chair of the church, said the church was built in 2018.
“It is very sad to see our church like this. We never expected this; it feels like a dream. We are all feeling sad and we are crying about our church because it was close to us. We are waiting for the investigations,” said Wolika.
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