Interim relief delivered to eThekwini shack fire victims

Blankets, non-perishable food, and clothing items are some of the goods that were handed over to families that were devastated by a fire that destroyed 18 shacks killing three people at Beachway informal settlement in Clermont, eThekwini (Durban).

The fire ravaged the informal settlement on Tuesday morning killing a mother, Samkelisiwe Ngxolo, 17, and her two children Oluhle, three, and Sanokuhle, six months, and left 30 people homeless.

KZN MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka on Thursday visited the informal settlement to offer interim relief.

Hlomuka paid his respects to the Ngxolo family as he visited Xoliswa Ngxolo, who is the aunt of the deceased mother.

Ngxolo told of her despair on Tuesday morning when, while she was walking her son to school, she got a call informing her that her shack was on fire and that her niece and children were all dead.

“Tuesday is a day I will never forget. It is when I lost three members of my family,” she said.

Hlomuka comforted her and assured her that the provincial government, together with the eThekwini metro, would do all they could to ensure that adequate support was provided, which included the funeral arrangements for her loved ones.

“The scenes that greeted us this morning are truly heartbreaking. The loss of three lives in such an abrupt manner,” Hlomuka said.

During his visit to the area, Hlomuka was accompanied by disaster management teams from the province and the eThekwini metro.

The MEC assured the fire victims that support would be ongoing to ensure that they were able to return to normal life as some of them had lost essential documents such as IDs.

“Additionally, we are in contact with human settlements and they will be providing materials which can be used by the affected families to put up temporary structures. We have also distributed interim relief aid which includes blankets, non-perishable food and clothing items,” Hlomuka said.

The MEC also urged residents across the province to exercise great caution, more especially those residing in informal settlements, as during winter, incidents like these are very common.

“We all need to play our part and ensure that we protect ourselves and our loved ones by ensuring that we use caution when using candles or any flammable product as they can cause serious damage when left unattended,” Hlomuka said.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.