UPDATE: Shack fire displaces 250 people

Claremont, Newclare and Westbury residents are heartbroken after having lost their homes due to a fire.

It has since been reported that around 250 people are now homeless due to the fire.

Early on Monday morning, a fire broke out at the Kathrada Park informal settlement destroying everything in its path, Westside-Eldos has reported.

Firefighters and paramedics were called to the scene at about 5am to help residents evacuate the area and put out the blaze.

100s of shacks caught fire in the early hours of the morning in Claremont, West of Johannesburg, 6 August 2018. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Picture: Nigel Sibanda.

According to Chris Vivier from the Johannesburg Emergency Services, about 50 or more shacks burned down.

“There’s no fatalities or injuries reported. At the moment, we suspect that the fire was started by a candle,” Vivier said.

Johannesburg Emergency Management spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi believes an unattended candle started the fire.

“We are looking about over 50 shacks that have been affected,” says  Mulaudzi.

No fatalities and injuries have been reported so far, says Mulaudzi.

A bakkie that was burnt at Kathrada park informal settlement, Newclare, West of Johannesburg, 6 August 2018. No casualties were reported. Picture: Nigel Sibanda.

100s of shacks caught fire in the early hours of the morning in Claremont, West of Johannesburg, 6 August 2018. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Picture: Nigel Sibanda.

100s of shacks caught fire in the early hours of the morning in Claremont, West of Johannesburg, 6 August 2018. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Picture: Nigel Sibanda.