Johannesburg - The bodies of two men were found charred beyond recognition in a container at a Benoni construction site early on Thursday morning, with a third man badly burnt but alive found nearby.
The men were found with their hands tied behind their backs and are believed to be employees of the construction company.
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Service (DEMS) spokesman William Ntladi said they received a call at about 1.30am.
The caller said there was a house on fire at the corner of Great North and Elgin roads.
On arrival, he said, they found a construction container alight. After extinguishing the blaze, they found the bodies of two men inside it.
A third man was found a couple of metres away from the container, still alive but with third-degree burns.
There were conflicting reports about whether this man’s hands were also tied.
Ntladi said DEMS assisted the man, who was taken to a hospital in Boksburg.
He said he did not know the status of the third man.
Staff at the hospital said the man was still alive later on Thursday morning but in a critical condition.
Kempton Park police were on the scene and investigating the matter, Ntladi said.
He said a generator was found inside the container next to the bodies.
The identity of the caller is not known.
“The cause of the fire is unknown,” Ntladi said.
“Maybe petrol was part of the accelerant used to burn those people. That is the initial investigation of this. Because their hands were tied, that shows criminal activity.”
The site is run by construction company KL Development.
When The Star contacted an official from the company on Thursday morning, he simply responded: “Absolutely no comment.”
Ntladi said it appeared that construction workers had been working the night shift, although no other workers were present when the police arrived at the scene.
He said when DEMS left at about 5am, forensic pathologists were still working to remove the bodies.
Rodrick Nzima, an employee at the Engen petrol station across the road from the site, said someone at the station had made the call about the fire.
He said his co-worker, who was on the night shift, said he saw the third man running and screaming while on fire before falling to the ground.
Nzima said he arrived at work at 4.30am and saw several cars parked at the scene.
He said the construction site’s security guard said he saw the two men tied up.
Provincial police spokesman Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said a case of murder, attempted murder as well as robbery had been opened as it appeared that items had been stolen from the premises.
No arrests have been made.