Family perishes in Philippi shack fire
Neighbour tried in vain to save the parents and their four children
‘THEY were such nice people,” said Philippi East resident Abongile Skade after a family was wiped out in a fire yesterday. Skade is a neighbour of the family, whose backyard dwelling went up in flames.
Lukhangela Makhanda, 36, his wife Nosimaye Masitha, and their four children – Sinovuyo, 9, Sisipho, 6, Yamnkela, 4, and Isivile, 2 – were killed in the fire.
The cause of the fire was not yet known, but police spokesperson FC van Wyk said an investigation into the case was under way. The fire was one of two. In the second incident, a Gugulethu man was killed in a shack fire.
“The City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to two incidents during the early hours of yesterday morning, where a total of seven fatalities were encountered,” said Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Theo Layne.
“In Mpangele Crescent, Philippi East, one adult male and one adult female and four minors (one boy of two years old, and three girls of four, six and nine years old) sustained fatal burns. The cause of the fire is undetermined.”
Skade said: “We heard screaming and then when we came out, we saw the place was on fire.
“I tried getting in, but the gate was locked and I tried to get in by the back, but couldn’t.
“I was so shocked; they were such nice people, never bothered anyone.”
The children’s aunt, Vivian Mlisa, said the family was puzzled.
“I don’t understand how this could’ve happened. They didn’t have any electricity and never used any gas.”
The children’s heartbroken grandmother, Gertrude Makhanda, was too distraught to speak, saying: “I’m not okay.”
In the second incident, five structures were destroyed by a fire leaving 13 people without shelter.
“At 4.58am in Phola Park informal settlement, Gugulethu, five structures were destroyed by fire, leaving 13 people displaced,” said Layne.
“One adult male sustained fatal burns. The cause of the fire is believed to be an electrical short circuit.”
Fire and Rescue Services were again called out after a fire broke out in a flat in Mimosa Court on Beach Road in Sea Point yesterday.
A man and a woman were treated for minor smoke inhalation and the block was successfully evacuated.
Last week, the Cape Argus reported that with winter temperatures plummeting, the search for heat puts children more at risk. In the Western Cape, 500 children burn to death every year with 15 000 admitted to hospitals with burns wounds across the province. –
WE HEARD SCREAMING AND THEN WHEN WE CAME OUT WE SAW THE PLACE WAS ON FIRE. I TRIED GETTING IN, BUT THE GATE WAS LOCKED