Fires engulf hundreds of shacks in Cape Town, leaving two dead and nearly 2,000 people left homeless.
According to emergency services, fires swept through hundreds of shacks in three separate incidents in Cape Town over the weekend, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and leaving almost 2,000 people homeless.
Two of the fires occurred on Saturday evening, while the third broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to authorities.
Jermaine Carelse, the spokesperson for Cape Town’s fire and rescue, stated in a release, “An adult male and female sustained fatal burn wounds and were declared deceased by medics” at one of the informal settlements.
The largest fire, erupting around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, engulfed over 150 shacks, displacing more than 1,000 people in the Mfuleni settlement, located approximately 30 kilometres southeast of Cape Town.
Carelse mentioned that the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Shack fires are a frequent occurrence in South Africa, posing a constant danger to the impoverished residents of sprawling informal settlements near major cities across the country.
As per the housing ministry’s data from 2022, approximately 12.3 percent of South Africa’s population resided in shacks.
Three decades after the end of apartheid, land ownership and housing policy remain highly contested issues in South African politics and are central topics in the upcoming May 29 polls.
The South African Muslim charity Gift of the Givers informed AFP that it was providing humanitarian aid to the homeless in all three locations affected by the fires.
This assistance includes hot meals, clean drinking water, as well as blankets, mattresses, and baby care products.
According to the charity, a few individuals were receiving treatment for injuries, while one person was still missing.
They also stated that community halls were being arranged to accommodate the displaced individuals.
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