Toddler and his uncle die in house fire at eMbalenhle

The Mathebula family in eMbalenhle Ext 2 is still shocked after Mr Mandla Mathebula (31) and his nephew, Siphosethu Mathebula (4), died when their home caught fire in the morning of Sunday, November 21.

According to Ms Sphiwe Mathebula, a family member, Mr Mathebula tried to save Siphosethu from the burning house.

“We don’t know what caused the fire, but when we realised that our house was on fire, I ran out, screaming for help.

“The neighbours came to help us.”

Ms Mathebula said while they were using buckets of water to extinguish the fire, they realised that Siphosethu was not with them.

“I shouted his name and then heard him screaming inside the burning house.

“Mandla jumped inside flames to save his nephew from the burning house, but he never returned,” she explained.

Firefighters were summoned to the scene but allegedly responded late.

After the fire was extinguished, family members went inside where they found Mr Mathebula and Siphosethu.

“We found them on the floor in one of the rooms.

“They did not burn, so we took them out of the house, thinking that maybe they were unconscious. We phoned the ambulance but it did not arrive,” said Ms Mathebula.

“We used a private car to take them to the Ext 4 clinic at eMbalenhle where they were declared dead,” said Ms Mathebula.

She also said the police’s sniffer dogs were used to find the cause of the fire but nothing was found.

Const Busi Mthethwa, eMbalenhle Police spokesperson, said an inquest docket was opened.