A family of six, including three children, aged from 9 months to 7 years, were killed after their shack caught fire from a flame stove.
A man, also a family member, is fighting for his life in the Khayelitsha District Hospital.
Zukiswa Shweni, 60, two adults aged 49 and 31 and three children, Avela Shweni, Liyolatha Shweni and Lelokuhle Shweni, were discovered in their shack early on Saturday.
A relative, Thembakazi Mtotoyi, said the fire occurred during load shedding, but the blaze was caused by a problematic flame stove.
Mtotoyi said the family owned a flame stove that burst out a flame every now and then. Before the incident, they poured paraffin into the stove, which leaked unnoticed on to the floor and led to the blaze.
“We are in distress about what has happened. Detectives came by to tell us that there’s a DNA test that needs to be done costing R1 500 for each person. As it is, we don’t know how we are going to bury all six people because the kids were not yet registered on our policies. We are hoping someone, anyone, and maybe the government can help us by assisting with the burial of the members,” Mtotoyi said.
The City’s Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said they were notified of structures alight and a minor trapped inside in SST Section, Town 2 Khayelitsha, on Saturday.
“Three minors and three adults, genders unknown, sustained fatal burn wounds. One adult male was rushed to hospital via ambulance as he received third degree burn wounds and was in a critical condition. A total of five structures were destroyed.”
Mtotoyi said her surviving cousin Bongani Shweni was fighting for his life at the district hospital. As a family, they were told he was on a waiting list for Groote Schuur, Tygerberg or Somerset due to the condition of his burn wounds.
In an unrelated case, the Fire & Rescue Service responded to an incident in Delft on Friday, when a woman was trapped inside a burning shack.
“Crews from Belhar, Mfuleni and Mitchells Plain responded to the incident and found a single structure engulfed in flames.
“Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze that razed the one informal structure and left six persons displaced. One adult female sustained fatal burn wounds and was declared dead by medical personnel,” Carelse said.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said Harare police registered an inquest for investigation after a fire which broke out in Town Two, Khayelitsha. The cause was yet to be determined.