Toll from Pretoria fire rises

2008-07-22 15:28

Pretoria - Five people were confirmed dead in a fire which broke out in the Kruger Park flats in central Pretoria on Tuesday, Gauteng police said.

Superintendent Eugene Opperman said two people jumped out of the burning building and three people died inside after the fire broke out in the morning.

He said the fire, which had started mainly in the rubbish chute of the building, had been extinguished and the situation was under control. The exact cause of the fire was not known.

Opperman said 13 people had been rescued from the roof of the building in an operation involving three police helicopters and three Air Force helicopters.

One police fixed wing aircraft was also deployed.

The number of people injured was yet to be determined, he said.

Opperman said the rubbish chute had been damaged in the fire but the building itself was "okay".

Alternative accommodation

No alternative accommodation had been considered for the residents at this stage as it was not deemed necessary.

The fire, which was allegedly started by residents of Kruger Park, after the Red Ants (security guards) began evicting their neighbours in the Schubart Park block, was extinguished just after noon.

The Anti-Privatisation Forum said it feared seven people had died in the blaze in Kruger Park and that residents of Schubart Park were "frantic" about the security of their homes.

"The Red Ants have on the back of the tragedy been deployed to empty the building of residents' belongings, effecting an eviction which is being contested," the forum said in a statement.

The forum said representatives of the residents were trying desperately to gain an interdict from the Pretoria High Court against the eviction.

Meanwhile, the divisional commissioner of visible policing Arno Lamoer has expressed appreciation of the "heroic efforts" of the police Air Wing.

A police crew member stayed on the burning premises to assist in evacuating victims who could not be reached by other emergency personnel.

- SAPA