Toddler dies in Cape Town blaze

A two-year-old girl died after an informal structure caught fire in Gugulethu, Cape Town, on Tuesday.

According to the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service, they received an emergency call at 3.35am and Gugulethu’s fire crews responded quickly. They arrived on the scene in Skweza Street in NY 82 to find an informal structure on fire.

“A search led to the discovery of the two-year-old girl’s body among the debris while the other two children were found by the neighbours,” said Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse.

It is believed that the two children – a girl aged nine and a boy aged 12 – managed to escape. Carelse said bystanders had alerted the officer in charge that the children had been missing.

Carelse said the fire was extinguished at 4.20am.

Police spokesperson Mihlali Majikela said a death inquest case had been registered for investigation.

The cause of the fire was still unknown.

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