Durban - The sister of one of three youngsters who died in a fire on Monday said she feels burdened with the struggles of the family after the incident.
Sthembile Mkhize, who witnessed her younger brother screaming for his life, said not only must she deal with the death of her brother, but she now has to also take care of her mother, who collapsed when she witnessed her son dying in their Umlazi shack.
“I could not believe what was happening. I tried to help, but it was too late. My mother came back from the hospital, but she has not said a word. I can see she is not okay.
"I wish my father was here to help me pull the family together,” said Mkhize.
She said her father was arrested for robbery in 2014 and was due to be released next year.
“I do not know whether to go to Westville Prison and tell him, or let him find out from the news reports,” said Mkhize.
Zotha Mkhize, 13, Nondumiso Gumede, 14, and Sbonelo Bhunu, 15, died in the fire which broke out early Monday morning.
Fire department spokesperson Xolani Zikhali said the shack had already burnt down when they got to the scene. They prevented the flames from reaching a nearby house, he said.
“The children’s trauma was visible when we inspected the site. We could see that they fought to escape,” he added.
Zikhali said residents said they could hear the children crying for help, but they were powerless to act due to the flames.