AFTER a night of boozing with friends, a man (26) from Masinenge Village in Margate, near Port Shepstone went back to his shack to sleep.
But before he slept he forgot to put out the burning candle and it cost him his life.
His neighbours tried to save him but it was too late.
The man, who was originally from Bizana in the Eastern Cape, was alone in the shack when the incident happened on Sunday morning.
His burnt body was found under the zinc sheets by firefighters.
Councillor Sokalezwe Ndovela told Daily Sun that the fire also damaged eight other shacks in the area.
“Some people were left stranded and had to be accommodated by their neighbours. Fortunately, only one person was killed in the fire. The disaster team from Hibiscus Coast Municipality came to the scene to assess the damage,” Ndovela said.
Ndovela said the municipality will try to help the victims to rebuild their shacks.
“They have already been given blankets and food parcels,” he said.
“The squatter camp has no electricity and fire incidents happen often.
“It becomes worse on weekends because people booze a lot.
“Two months ago 19 shacks were burnt to ashes. However, no injuries were reported,” he said.
KZN police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane confirmed that cops from Margate Police Station have opened an inquest docket.