“They meant the world to me, but what I feel is not going to bring them back.”
So said Siviwe Mata, whose two daughters, Simamkele, 5, and one-year-old Kuhle Msutu, were among the six family members killed when their shack caught fire in Phola Park informal settlement in Philippi East.
The girls’ grandmother, Nokhaya Kili, and her two children, Mihle,18, and Xolani, 14, were also killed in the fire that broke out just before midnight on Monday. Kili’s eight-year-old grandson Benathi was also killed.
It’s unclear what caused the fire. The family suspects that it may have been started by an overturned candle.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said death inquest cases were opened for investigation.
The City’s Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said: “The blaze destroyed three dwellings.
"One adult female, two adult males, one male minor, one female minor, and one female baby has sustained fatal burns. One adult male was taken to hospital. Disaster Management officials have been activated including trauma counselling.”
The devastated Mata, a security guard, told the Cape Times the deaths felt unreal.
“We normally leave the children here with their grandmother when we go to work. Myself and their mother (Asanda Msutu) do not stay here.
"One person, the girls’ uncle (Mthuthuzeli Msutu), was able to escape the fire. It is difficult to accept but there is nothing I can do about it. Their mother is finding it difficult to accept,” he said.
“My focus now is to try and use the little we have in order to prepare for their funerals. That is the most important thing,” he said.
Mthuthuzeli Msutu, who was in the shack when the fire started, said: “There was no way of going in. Everything was destroyed.
"I woke up soon after the fire started. When others woke up, it was too late.”
Traumatised Kili’s sister, Nolusindiso Kili said: “We got a call just before 12am informing us that my sister’s house was on fire.
"The neighbour told us that they tried opening the door but they could not because the fire was too big. They were all trapped inside. They have been staying here for a while.”
Neighbours say they were woken by Kili’s scream for help.
“When I got out of my house, there was nothing we could do. We tried dousing the flames with the water we collected by the buckets.
"Even when firefighters arrived, it was too late. There were also flare-ups. This has left us traumatised. Some of us need some counselling,” said Ntombizanele Ndleleni, whose shack was also gutted.