Durban - A 13-year-old boy said he tried desperately to wake his two siblings, as their home in Lindelani went up in flames on Sunday night.
Nhlanhla Mazeka said his siblings, Xolani, 10, and Thembelihle, 17, only woke up when the locked door was kicked in by a neighbour, in an effort to save them.
The children’s father, Sibusiso Jobe, who lives in Amaoti, said the two were burnt on their arms and face before they were rushed to a local clinic in Lindelani.
He said the children had been home alone asleep - with a candle burning, as the family has no electricity.
Jobe said the children were bandaged at the local clinic, sent home and told to make their way to King Edward VIII Hospital for further medical help, as they could still walk.
Xolani Mazeka, 10, was asleep in their home, at an informal settlement in Lindelani, with his two siblings, when their home caught alight.
Recalling the fire, Nhlanhla said he was the first to wake and the fire was started by a candle that fell over.
The children’s mother had been at a babysitting job at the time.
Nhlanhla said they left the candle burning because Xolani was sick that night and he had to constantly get up to go outside to use the toilet.
“The fire had already started when I woke up, I tried desperately to get them up. They only woke up when they heard the noise of the door being kicked in by a neighbour,” he said.
One of the neighbours, Zanele Mtshali, said the resident who saved the children had been on his way to the nearby shop when he saw smoke coming from the shack.
She said the man kicked in the door when he heard a child inside. He managed to pull them out of the shack.
“Everyone in the community came out with buckets of water at that point and tried to put out the fire but we couldn’t. It burnt until it died on its own and when firefighters arrived, the fire was already out,” she said.
Speaking to the Daily News on Monday, from the hospital, Thembelihle said she sustained burns to both her arms.
“The pain is a little better than yesterday but I am feeling a little weak.”
She said her brother sustained burns to the face and arms.