St Francis Bay - At least 11 homes have been burnt down and several others left damaged after a runaway fire in St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
The fire broke out between Harbour Road and Assissi Drive on Tuesday afternoon and saw residents evacuated from the area as authorities scrambled to contain it.
The Kouga municipality, in a series of Facebook posts, confirmed that the fire has since been contained and that multiple properties had been affected.
"Kouga firefighters are on the ground and are being assisted by Koukamma and the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
"An estimated 10 to 12 houses have burnt down. A few other properties were also damaged but not to the same extent. The actual number will be confirmed once we are confident the fire is under control."
The municipality in a later post confirmed that 11 houses burnt down as a result of the fire, with a few others left damages.
It added that SAPS officers would be patrolling the area to prevent any looting and that firefighters, assisted by volunteers, would continue to fighting to contain the blaze.