Young couple dies in shack fire in eMbalenhle
“My son died in front of my eyes - I saw him and his girlfriend burning and screaming for help until their last breath.”
eMBALENHLE -Mr Moeketsi Malope (27) and his girlfriend died in a shack fire at Ext 19 in eMbalenhle on Saturday night, June 26.
His mother, Ms Maria Masuku, was watching TV when she heard a noise in her yard.
She went outside to investigate and was shocked to see her son’s shack on fire.
“When I saw my child’s shack shaking, I thought maybe he was fighting with his girlfriend, but then I saw flames coming from the shack and I realised that they were trying to open a door.
“They could not get it open because of all the smoke they inhaled.”
Ms Masuku yelled for help. Neighbours came to her aid, but by then, it was too late.
“My son and his girlfriend mysteriously died. They were screaming for help until their last breath,” said a traumatised Ms Masuku.
The Masuku-family does not know what caused the fire and is relying on a police investigation.
They are also still waiting for the family of Mr Malope’s girlfriend to come forward before they can decide on funeral arrangements.
The family did not know the woman.
A friend of Mr Malope told the family that the woman might be from Val in the Standerton district.
Ms Masuku said she last talked to her son earlier on Saturday when he told her that he was visiting his friends at Extension 14 eMbalenhle, and she was unaware of when he returned home.
“We are appealing to the woman’s family not to point fingers but to work together and lay their bodies to rest because no one was ready for such an incident,” concluded Ms Masuku.
The eMbalenhle police have opened an inquest into the death of Mr Malope and the unknown woman.
