A 50-year-old woman and two children, aged seven and eight, died after a child care centre in Villa Liza, Vosloorus, was allegedly set alight by a candle that was used to light the house during load-shedding on February 3.

According to City of Ekurhuleni DEMS spokesperson William Ntladi, there were five people in the house. Two of them, boys in their mid-teens, survived unharmed as they were sleeping in a separate room.

The three deceased were sleeping in a room where the candle is alleged to have been lit.

“The three seemed to have suffered from lack of oxygen due to smoke inhalation. They were declared dead on the scene by paramedics,” said Ntladi.

He said community members walked into the Vosloorus Fire Station to report the fire.

“On arrival, the crew of nine firefighters found members of the public battling the blaze with buckets brigade systems before they took over and extinguished it. Apparently, there was no electricity in the area prior to the blaze and they had used candles for lighting,” he explained.

The scene was handed over to law enforcement officers for in-depth investigations.

WATCH: Five ‘burnt beyond recognition’ on Swartkoppies, Kliprivier Roads crash