POLOKWANE – Police in Mankweng have opened an inquest following the deaths of two young girls, aged three and five, after a backroom caught fire at Tjatjaneng village in Ga-Mothapo outside Polokwane.

According to police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the incident occurred at about 15:30 on Saturday.

Preliminary reports indicate that the children’s grandmother left the house at around 14:00 to visit a nearby tuckshop, leaving the girls in a backroom while their great-grandmother remained in the main house.

While still at the shop, the grandmother was reportedly informed that the backroom had caught fire.

She rushed back home and found community members trying to extinguish the blaze.

The two children were later discovered on a bed inside the room and had been burnt beyond recognition.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, and investigations are underway.