Ex-husband in Vietnam to get fire victim’s body
THE family of a South African woman who was killed when a fire broke out at a rented house in Vietnam say they are still in shock over her death.
Alana Lens, 33, who was living in Cape Town, had been on holiday with a friend when the fire occurred on Saturday.
She and the friend had decided to visit separate parts of the country and had plans to meet up again.
According to a Vietnamese news outlet, flames engulfed the tenanted house called The Cosy Stay on Phu Quoc, a famous tourist island off the southern Vietnamese province of Kien Giang, following an explosion at about 2.30am on Nguyen Thi Dinh Street in Duong Dong town.
The fire was extinguished after about 40 minutes, but the entire place had already been gutted.
It was reported that a Russian national was also killed and five others hospitalised following the fire.
Alana’s ex-husband, Wynand Lens, is in Vietnam working with the embassy to get her body back home.
“The homeowner said the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit or bad wiring. The explosion must have happened afterwards because Alana and the Russian girl died of smoke inhalation. She was sleeping,” said Wynand.
He said Alana had gone to a festival the day before and had gone home early to report for work as a digital nomad, which allowed her to work from anywhere in the world.
Wynand added that he was having communication challenges and was talking to police through Google Translate.
“I just need to get her cremated and back home; she shouldn’t be in a drawer. It’s the worst message anybody could ever send you… to say ‘she died’,” he said.
Alana’s aunt, Annelle Schvartzkopff said: “We are not past the shock yet.”
The 33-year-old Alana would be remembered for her “fearless nature, joy for life and adventurous spirit”.
The Department of International Relations and Co-operation had not commented by deadline.