Johannesburg - At least 100 people where left homeless when 60 shacks were gutted by fire at the Zandspruit informal settlement, north of Johannesburg on Tuesday, the city’s emergency services said.
Spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said the incident happened after 10am.
The land on which shacks were erected was privately owned, with tenants paying a R500 monthly rental per shack to the landlord, Mulaudzi said.
Disaster management teams have been dispatched to the informal settlement to help those affected.
Shack fires are prevalent especially in winter across South Africa. According to the city’s emergency services management, Johannesburg alone records at least 600 shack fire incidents every year.
Close proximity of shacks, negligence, leaving paraffin stoves or candles burning or unattended and illegal electrical connections have been identified as the primary causes of loss of life and property through fire.
African News Agency