JOHANNESBURG – Four people were killed and another was critically injured on Friday when a fire broke out from a gun shop at the Glenanda Shopping Centre in the south of Johannesburg.
One of the four who was killed in the blaze was a 15-year-old boy, paramedics said.
Paramedics said they were called to the scene shortly before 12pm after a fire broke out.
ER24 paramedics spokesperson Russell Meiring said medics could hear explosives from the store when they arrived on scene.
“Three men, a woman and a 15-year-old boy that had apparently all been in the gun store, had been rescued by bystanders and pulled to a safe distance.
“Medics assessed the patients and found that all five patients were critical, with their vital signs rapidly diminishing.
“CPR and advanced life support interventions were immediately initiated in an effort to stabilise the patients.
“Unfortunately, after some time, the two men, a woman and a young boy, succumbed to their injuries and were declared dead.
“The fifth critically injured patient was transported to a nearby hospital for urgent care,” said Meiring.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo confirmed the incident.
“We can confirm that police attended to a scene at Glenanda Shopping Centre in Johannesburg on Friday, 29 October 2021, where the gun shop was on fire. Four people who were at the shop were later declared dead and one person taken to hospital in a serious condition.
“The cause of fire cannot be confirmed at this stage. Police have opened an inquest docket for further investigation,” he said.
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