A tree fell onto a playschool classroom and storage shed after a field fire took place and hollowed the tree out.
On Tuesday, September 11, a field fire started near a local playschool.
“The field fire lasted for two days and in the process the tree got burned,” explained one of the teachers at the school.
“The principal went to look at the damage and she noticed the tree was hallowed out and completely unsupported,” the teacher further explained.
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The principal phoned the local municipality multiple times on Wednesday, September 12, Thursday, September 13 and Friday, September 14.
“The municipality failed to show up and as thought the tree fell, destroying our storage shed and the roof of one of our classrooms.”
WITBANK NEWS contacted the Emalahlani Local Municipality for their side of the story.
According to Municipal Spokesperson, Mr Kingdom Mabuza, the land that burned does not belong to the Emalahleni Municipality.
The tree fell on one of the classrooms at the playschool.
“The vacant land does not belong to the municipality; it belongs to the Mpumalanga Government. We received a call from the preschool on Friday and we dispatched a team to go and cut the tree. Unknown people burnt the tree and when we arrived it had already fell,” Mabuza concluded.
There were no injuries and all the learners as well as the teachers are safe. The school was however closed on Monday, September 17, so that the tree could be removed.