A man died in a shack fire in Cato Crest informal settlement near Durban on Sunday, police confirmed.
Bhekizenzo Ntshangase, 37, died apparently after he fell asleep while his paraffin stove was burning.
His neighbours, who lost their belongings in the fire, said they suspected he came home drunk in the early hours and fell asleep while he was cooking.
Residents battled for two hours to extinguish the fire and found Ntshangase’s body, burned beyond recognition.
“I heard him screaming for help once and then we never heard him again,” said Simthembile Sphongo.
“Breaking into his room to pull him out was too difficult because the fire was too big,” he added.
Ntshangase was seen drinking with a group of friends earlier in the day.
“He was definitely drunk because the whole day he was drinking. When I got out of my room at about 5am the fire was in his room and as a result of strong wind it spread to our rooms,” said his neighbour Siphiwe Mofokeng.
A tuck-shop owner, Vumani Khumalo, said the dead man was a cleaner at Westridge High School and had come to his tuckshop drinking a beer at about 2pm to buy food.
“I told him that I had run out of fast food and he left. I was shocked in the morning when I heard that he had been burnt to death. I feel guilty because, if I had sold him the food, he would not have attempted to cook,” said Khumalo.
Mofokeng said the fire had destroyed his shack and belongings. “I’m only left with what I am wearing now. I have to start all over again and I’m unemployed,” he said.
Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said police were investigating the cause of the blaze.