Ten shacks destroyed in Mpumalanga fire
Tragedy struck a squatter community when 10 shacks caught fire in a blaze that quickly spread among the dingy structures.
All the residents could do was stand and watch how their livelihoods went up in flames.
Ten families have lost everything, and were left with only the clothes on their backs. The fire was allegedly started by a hotplate left burning by two women from Tembisa, who were visiting friends in the squatter camp, reports Middelburg Observer.
According to Thabo Brendie, all that the affected parties could do was stand and watch their livelihoods go up in flames.
READ MORE: Shack fires devastate Cape Town and Gauteng
He grabbed his cellphone to take pictures of the devastation while local firefighters battled the blaze.
Residents tried to salvage what they could from the wreckage.
The municipality visited the squatter camp on Tuesday, where two tents were erected for the displaced.
They also received blankets, but some of the squatters have gone hungry since the fire, with no money to buy food.
The fire started at about 2.54pm, with most of the inhabitants of the shacks at work.
Brendie said the two women turned on the hotplate to cook some food, but later left the shack without turning the hotplate off.
The shack was completely destroyed, while the intense fire spread to nearby shacks, engulfing them in flames.
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