Pretoria – At least three people, including two girls aged eight and seven, have been killed in a house fire in Villa-Liza, Ekurhuleni.
“Firefighters from Vosloorus responded swiftly (to calls) for an alight house in Villa-Liza on Thursday evening at around 22H48. A crew of nine firefighters found members of the public frantically battling the blaze with buckets brigade systems,” said Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services spokesperson William Ntladi.
He said, as professionals, the firefighters took over and eventually managed to extinguish the blaze.
“A four-bedroom house used as a child care centre was saved. However, three lives were already lost at the time. An adult female in her 50s and two young girls, aged seven and eight, couldn't survive the flames,” said Ntladi.
They were declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
Ntladi said two other children, two boys, survived the inferno unharmed.
“It is alleged that the cause of the fire was a lit candle. Apparently, there wasn't electricity in the area prior to the blaze. They used candles for lighting,” he said.
“The three deceased seemed to have suffered from lack of oxygen due to smoke inhalation. The scene was handed over to law enforcement officers for in-depth investigations.”
Power utility Eskom on Thursday announced that more of its units that have forced the country into its first bout of load shedding this year had failed to recover.
Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter and other executives provided another system update following the plunging of the nation into Stage 2 blackouts until Monday morning.
On Thursday, Ntladi said at least five family members were killed in a collision when a light motor vehicle collided with a petrol tanker.
Ntladi said five people in the car died in the blaze, which was attended to by the City of Ekurhuleni, assisted by crews from the City of Johannesburg.
“It was reported by an off duty firefighter. On arrival, both vehicles were well alight,” he said.
Ntladi said a specialised foam tanker and water tankers were used to contain and eventually extinguish the blaze.
“What seems to be the entire family members inside the light motor vehicle, five lives perished and burned beyond recognition,” he said.
“Both the truck driver and assistant sustained critical injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital for further medical care. The cause of the crash is undetermined and still under investigation by law enforcement officials.”
Ntladi said the operation to douse the flames involved about 50 firefighters both City of Ekurhuleni and City of Johannesburg.
IOL