Over the past year, a number of families have had to battle fires at their homes and shacks, but it is not very often where there are fatalities.
This wasn’t the case for the Mgidi family as they have lost one of their loved ones to a shack fire that took place last Saturday morning.
Nonhlanhla Mgidi spent her last moments with her friends before coming home in the early hours of Saturday, and that was the last anyone saw of her.
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“We were called by our back opposite neighbour and we wasted no time in trying to calm the fire, my cousin and his older brother started by breaking open the windows.
“They tried to go for the door but the flame was too much for them and they started getting water in buckets, trying to put the flame out while they waited for a fire extinguisher. When the blaze was settled the firefighters made us aware that there was a body lying on the floor near the door.
“The body was burnt beyond recognition and looked like the person was in a struggle before they gave in,” said Nokthula Mvembe, Nonhlanhla’s cousin.
On that weekend, Nonhlanhla Mgidi was supposed to leave with the rest of her family for a family gathering that was meant to take place in Mpumalanga, but some members of the family ended up in Zola after they heard the tragic incident.
“We had a fun day yesterday, it’s almost surreal to think that she is no more.
“She was so happy, happier than we used to her because she busy taking pictures with everyone, and for as long as I’ve known her, she has always hated pictures.
“Our hearts are truly pained, we have lost a loving and kind friend”, said Nompumelelo Busana, a close friend of Nonhlanhla.
