‘There were injured schoolchildren all over’: Three killed, 29 injured in Mpumalanga crash
Picture: Ditaba Tsotetsi/Twitter
According to City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Services (EMS) spokesperson Eric Maloka, its teams responded to reports of the fire at around 02:36.
Maloka said upon their arrival, several shacks were found to be engulfed in flames. Backup was provided by a neighbouring fire station and 15 firefighters were deployed to assist in extinguishing the fire.
A father and his three year old child have died in a shack fire in the Good Hope informal settlement near Germiston this morning #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/ZrwHL6bGmk
— Ditaba Tsotetsi (@tsotetsiditaba) April 13, 2020
The blaze was contained and, following search-and-rescue efforts, two bodies were recovered.
The bodies were assumed to be those of a father and his child, according to neighbours on the scene, Maloka said.
“The cause of the fire was still undetermined and our fire safety officials were summoned to assist with investigations,” Maloka said.
Maloka told News24 about 10 dwellings were destroyed, but no injuries had been reported.
The scene was handed over to the South African Police Service for further investigation.
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