A pre-dawn fire razed 30 shacks in the Du Noon informal settlement yesterday, killing one person and leaving at least 80 others displaced.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Theo Layne said they had received the distress call at 1.29am and dispatched two fire engines, a water tanker and a rescue vehicle.
“While extinguishing the blaze, firefighters discovered the charred body of an unknown person, burnt beyond recognition,” Layne said.
Layne said it took firefighters about an hour to bring the blaze under control.
Milnerton police cluster spokesman Captain Cyril Dicks said police had opened an inquest docket.
“We are still investigating the cause of the fire. As yet we have not established the identity of the deceased person.”
The police also were unable to establish whether the person was male or female.
“Even the community could not assist with the identification at the scene.
“We are urging people who may be missing a relative or loved one to come forward with information,” he said.
Disaster Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said their teams had immediately moved into the area to provide assistance in the form of starter kits to rebuild their homes, meals and blankets.
Solomons-Johannes said by late afternoon, residents were rebuilding their homes.
In another incident on Friday, a couple were burnt to death in a shack fire in 8th Street, Kensington. - Sunday Argus