Durban - Firefighters and other emergency services were battling a raging fire in KwaMashu on Monday afternoon that tore through an informal settlement and destroyed 100 shacks.
Four people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services spokesperson, Robert McKenzie said.
The fire started at the informal settlement shortly before midday at KwaMashu A section and quickly spread.
It was the third such fire to break in an informal settlement in Durban since Friday.
Mckenzie said that paramedics from the KZN EMS were on the scene treating patients while eThekwini Firefighters were battling the blaze.
"The cause of the fire is not known at this stage and will be investigated," he said.
Firefighters and other emergency services were battling a raging fire in KwaMashu on Monday afternoon that tore through an informal settlement and destroyed 100 shacks. Pictures: KZN EMS
On Sunday one person died and about 200 people were left homeless after a fire razed shacks in the Malacca Road informal settlement in Glen Hills, north of Durban.
According to residents, the fire was believed to have started in the shack of Sphamandla Khumalo, who died in the blaze.
Arianne Hayes-Hill, from a non-profit organisation called The Seed Fund which does outreach work in the community told The Mercury that residents from the settlement called her at 2am on Sunday.
Firefighters and other emergency services were battling a raging fire in KwaMashu on Monday afternoon that tore through an informal settlement and destroyed 100 shacks. Pictures: KZN EMS
Hayes-Hill said she immediately called the fire department and went down to the settlement.
“The first fire truck had no water, so they had to call more trucks, it’s quite sad, but they started working, and probably by about six o’clock, the fires were still smouldering, but they were put out,” she said.
Hayes-Hill said about 78 shacks were destroyed, which has displaced about 200 people.
On Friday, hundreds of people were left homeless after a fire ripped through the Lacey Road informal settlement in Sydenham.
The settlement is home to around 700 people. The community of Sydenham rallied behind the affected resident shortly after the blaze, providing them with meals and clothes.