Man's precious bike destroyed in blaze
2012-05-30 09:23
Johannesburg - A month-and-a-half ago, a young man finally bought the motorcycle he had saved for.
On Tuesday morning, Chengetai Chauke, 26, a casual worker, wept inconsolably when he realised that a fire in Woodlane informal settlement, Pretoria, had destroyed the bike.
"I can't believe it's gone," a stunned Chauke told Beeld newspaper, which published a photograph of the burnt-out bike.
Ten shacks, Chauke's among them, were reduced to ashes after a gas stove fell over and ignited.
Chauke said he had paid R3 350 for the bike, and had been working hard to fix it and get it into a roadworthy condition.
He had aimed to get his driver's licence, and possibly use the new skill as a path to employment.
On Tuesday morning he went to a nearby crossroads in the hope of being picked up as a casual labourer, but when he returned at about 13:00, the fire was raging.
Nobody was injured in the fire.
- SAPA
