Two die in shack blaze

2003-12-22 08:42

Johannesburg - Two people burned to death when a fire destroyed 150 shacks in Slovo Park west of Johannesburg, in the early hours of Monday morning.

Malcolm Midgley, the city's emergency services' spokesperson, said the fire started at 03:25. As personnel battled to get the blaze under control, the charred remains of two bodies were found.

A young boy also sustained minor injuries.

Midgley said it was suspected the fire had been caused by a candle.

At about the same time another fire was beginning to blaze in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg. This would see saw the destruction of 20 shacks in the vicinity of Vasco da Gama and Tenth Street. No one was injured in this incident. Midgley said although fire-fighting efforts had been hampered by a strong early morning wind, both fires had been contained by 05:00.

He said Johannesburg's disaster management unit would be assessing the needs of the stricken communities and helping where they could.

- SAPA