Over the weekend, devastating fires ravaged Cape Town, South Africa, leaving almost 2,000 people homeless and claiming the lives of two individuals, according to emergency services.
The fires erupted in three separate incidents, with two occurring on Saturday evening and one in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“An adult male and female sustained fatal burn wounds and were declared deceased by medics” at one of the informal settlements, Cape Town’s fire and rescue spokesman Jermaine Carelse said in a statement.
In the early hours of Sunday, the largest fire, which broke out around 2:30 am, engulfed more than 150 shacks, displacing over 1,000 people in the Mfuleni settlement, located approximately 30 kilometres (19 miles) southeast of Cape Town.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, stated Carelse.
Shack fires pose a recurring threat to the impoverished residents of informal settlements across South Africa’s major cities.
As of 2022, according to the housing ministry, 12.3 percent of South Africa’s population lived in shacks.
Three decades after the end of apartheid, issues surrounding land ownership and housing policies remain contentious in the country’s politics, emerging as significant topics in the upcoming May 29 polls.
The South African Muslim charity, Gift of the Givers, informed newsmen that it was delivering humanitarian aid to the displaced individuals at all three locations. This aid includes hot meals, clean drinking water, blankets, mattresses, and baby care products.
While a few individuals were receiving treatment for injuries, one person remained missing, as reported by the charity. Efforts are underway to accommodate the displaced residents in community halls.
