Imizamo Yethu fire kills 3, displaces 15 000
A HUMANITARIAN crisis ensued in Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, as thousands of people queued to be registered following the devastating fire, which left them homeless and a family of three dead.
The City Disaster Management reported yesterday that about 3 500 structures were ravaged by the fire, which started on Saturday morning and left an estimated 15 000 people homeless. Spokesperson Charlotte Powell said: “The disaster management team is working closely with other City services, NGOs and the community to deal with the aftermath of the fire in Imizamo Yethu.”
A distraught Ntombizodwa Dulani, aunt of Siyabonga Nceza, 35, his wife Zukhanye Nceza, 28, and son Ayabulela Nceza, who would have turned 3 next month, spoke of how her family perished together in the Dontse-Yakhe Section.
It was after 1am when Dulani heard that there was a fire in “Dontsa” and rushed up there in her night clothes and saw the “raging flames”.
“We couldn’t get too close to the fire, so we called out his wife’s name, hoping that she would respond, but nothing.
“My nephew Thando Nceza persisted and grabbed the hose from the firefighter and tried to put out the flames himself.
“When the flames had died down a bit he went to look and saw the bodies.”
There were several drop-off points where Hout Bay residents donated food, clothes and household goods over the weekend.
The MEC for Social Development, Albert Fritz, who visited the area yesterday, said he was satisfied with how the City, NGOs and the community were handling the crisis.
Investigations will be conducted to determine the cause of the fires.