Man dies in shack inferno
Nearly 50 shacks were engulfed by fire at an informal settlement in Margate.
A FIRE that broke out at Masinenge informal settlement in Margate during the early hours of last Thursday claimed the life of Thobalani Cele (25) from Flagstaff.
Residents watched helplessly as 53 shacks were razed to the ground.
According to resident Box Ndovela, it could have been worse. “We were left with only the clothes on our backs but the fire department managed to stop the blaze from spreading,” he said.
Cele was trapped by the flames and critically injured. He was rushed to Port Shepstone Regional Hospital by paramedics from KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services but died three days later.
Police spokesman Captain Gerald Mfeka said it was suspected that the fire started at the bottom section of Masinenge at about 2am on Thursday morning and spread upwards. “An inquest docket has been opened,” he said.
One of the residents said that there were about 100 people who had lost all their belongings. Four days later, some were still searching the area for material which could be used to rebuild a shack.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom as Hibiscus Coast Municipality stepped in to provide plastic groundsheets, blankets, mattresses and gel stoves.
HCM mayor Cynthia Mqwebu visited the area on Monday this week, and expressed her condolences to the bereaved family.
It was not the first fire which has occurred at Masinenge. Aside from some small ones, there was a big one in June 2009 which left more than 200 people without shelter after their homes were destroyed.
