Child dies, 3 hurt fleeing Bellville blaze
TWO women jumped from the third floor of Amdenhof apartments in Bellville in an attempt to escape a fire. One held a baby as she jumped.
An 8-year-old boy was killed in the fire which also left a man injured.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Daniels said they were alerted to a burning building at the corner of Barnard and Voortrekker Roads in Bellville around noon yesterday.
EMS arrived at the scene within 10 minutes and were joined by Fire Services and SAPS.
“Two adult females and an adult male were rushed to Tygerberg Hospital in critical conditions with severe burn wounds as well as smoke inhalation and trauma, as one of the females had jumped from the third floor of the building to escape,” said Daniels.
City Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Theo Layne confirmed the incident.
“A fire occurred on the third and fourth floors of one of the Amdenhof flats. Two adult females jumped from the third floor, one of them carrying a baby. One sustained 60% burns and other injuries.”
Layne said two fire engines, a hydraulic platform and a vehicle with 24 firefighters attended the scene and the fire was extinguished within an hour.
In a video that later surfaced on social media, a woman can be seen lying on the ground after jumping from the building.
The fire is seen escalating, when shortly afterwards a man jumps from the fourth floor on to two mattresses.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said: “A death inquest has been opened. The circumstances of the fire are under investigation.”