PICS: Shack fire rages in Alexandra following pylon collapse
It is not yet clear if there are casualties and which areas will be affected by power outages following the pylon's fall.
Image used for illustrative purposes. Shacks caught fire in Stjwetla, Alexandra after a pylon fell over on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Picture: Isaac Mangena.
A pylon has fallen over in Stjwetla, Alexandra township, resulting in multiple shacks catching fire.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said: “We have a dangerous situation in Stjwetla, Alexandra, where one of our pylons and the overhead lines from the pylon fell on the shacks resulting in them catching fire. As of now, we don’t know the cause of this. We are also not sure if there are casualties.
“We have dispatched a team to the area to investigate.
“The line carries about 88 kilovolts of electricity and can result in injuries or even death if it comes into contact with a person.”
He also said that several areas are expected to have lost power following the pylon’s collapse.
Shacks caught fire in Stjwetla, Alexandra after a pylon fell over on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.
Picture: Isaac Mangena
Shacks caught fire in Stjwetla, Alexandra after a pylon fell over on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.
Picture: Isaac Mangena
Shack fires have caused devastation in Alexandra in the past.
Four children of the Ngobeni family between the ages of three and six died in a fire tragedy in the township in September last year, Alex News reported at the time
It is alleged their mothers went to a tavern and left the children in the care of a 14-year-old, who ran to look for help from neighbours and was the only one who survived the fire.
In December 2018, a man who was believed to have started a fire in Alexandra informal settlement on Thursday has died from injuries sustained when a mob attacked him over a fire that gutted shacks in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township.
The man reportedly died on the way to hospital, according to police spokesperson Captain Steve Malatji.
Malatji said police were investigating a case of manslaughter, but that no arrests had yet been made.
It is alleged that the man started the fire after he had a fight with his girlfriend, Alex News reported at the time.
The man was then found by angry residents who wanted to stone him.
A number of shacks on London Road and 18th Avenue went up in flames.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman. Additional reporting by Nduduzo Nxumalo, CNS reporter, Citizen reporter, and ANA)
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