Three workers die in furniture factory fire

Three workers perished in a fire that gutted a furniture factory in Missionlands, KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.

Five others jumped out of windows from the upper level of the building, escaping the raging inferno.

Firefighters arrived and battled the blaze for several hours.

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Families’ search

Families of the factory workers were left horrified when they tried locating their missing loved ones who hadn’t returned home from work.

“Reaction Unit SA (Rusa) received a call for assistance after the search party peered through a window of the guttered building and noticed what appeared to be skeletal remains.

“Reaction officers and paramedics were immediately dispatched and on arrival confirmed the discovery to be human remains,” said Rusa.

Workers ‘locked in’

According to the relatives, nine Malawian nationals were working night when the fire broke out at around 11 pm.

“All exits and entrances were allegedly locked by their employer at the start of their shift. This could not be confirmed by Rusa,” said the rescue unit.

Five workers who managed to jump out suffered minor injuries.

The ninth employee is yet to be found. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

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