Body inside flaming hearse was not burnt by the fire – municipality

The body inside a hearse that caught on fire on Saturday morning in Paarl East was not damaged, the Drakenstein municipality confirmed on Sunday morning.

Spokesperson Riana Geldenhuys had initially said in a statement that the fire on Saturday morning had significantly damaged the vehicle and that the body of the person inside was also burnt.

In an updated statement on Sunday, she said the undertaker had confirmed that the body had not been burnt as previously reported.

“While all indications were that the devastating fire that caused severe damage to a hearse and the coffin it was carrying in Paarl East…also damaged the body in the coffin, the undertaker has since confirmed to Drakenstein Municipality that this was not the case.”

Drakenstein Municipality’s fire services were alerted to the burning vehicle in Broadway Street at around 08:14 on Saturday.

Pictures and videos of the flaming hearse also went viral on social media platforms.

Firefighting personnel arrived on the scene and managed to extinguish the blaze.

Geldenhuys said at the time that no injuries had been reported, and that the cause of the fire would be subject to a police investigation.

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