RESIDENTS of Fisantekraal near Durbanville in Western Cape are in shock following the death of three people in the early hours of Monday, 12 February.
David Byron (23) died together with his girlfriend Namhla Nozombile (29) and their seven-month-old daughter Zenazi Nozombile.
Their families are devastated due to the untimely deaths of their loved ones.
Namhla’s father Vembile Nozombile (64) was asleep when he heard Namhla’s friend calling them to open the door.
She asked them where Namhla was. When they told her that she had left with her boyfriend a few hours earlier, she asked the father to accompany her to the scene.
“We got to the scene, and I learnt that Namhla, her boyfriend and their daughter had burnt to death. I’m still shocked by the incident,” he said.
A neighbour Charles Watson (39), who survived the fire incident, said he was shaken because he had heard the couple screaming for help, but he couldn’t help.
“I was running for my life at that time because the fire was big. I was going to be trapped in my shack as well since our shacks were next to each other, so I had to flee. I don’t have any clothes or anything. Everything has burnt to ashes,” said Watson.
Nombulelo Koyina, who owns the shacks which the three died in and were renting, said the fire could've been caused by a lit candle.
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“David went to one of his neighbours, asking for a candle because it was load shedding. He wanted to light it since they had a baby in the house. The neighbour gave them the candle and told them to be careful but a few minutes later, the fire started,” said Koyina.
Western Cape police spokesman Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the incident.
“Durbanville police responded to a complaint in the early hours of Monday, 12 February 2024. Upon arrival in Saartjie Baartman, Fisantekraal at around 1.40am, they found a shack completely destroyed by a fire. When the fire was extinguished, they discovered three unidentified bodies amidst the rubble. The victims were declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel,” said Swartbooi.
City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue spokesman Jermaine Carelse also confirmed the incident.
“At approximately 12.50am, an emergency call was received of a structure alight in Saartjie Baartman Street. Crews from Durbanville, Kraaifontein and Atlantis were dispatched to the scene. By 2.30am, firefighters had extinguished the blaze that destroyed six informal structures and left several persons displaced. Sadly, a man, woman and a minor, who sustained fatal burn wounds, were discovered under the debris,” said Carelse.
