Africa-Press – South-Africa. The densely populated Dakota informal settlement in Isipingo Beach, south of Durban, was ravaged by another fire in the early hours on Tuesday.
According to East Coast Crime Watch the fire started shortly after 4am.
“It is believed to have started when residents lit a fire to keep warm on a cold night, which quickly spread due to the densely populated shack dwellings,” it said.
“The fire is believed to be an accident. Many shacks have been destroyed, affecting many families.”
Dhevan Govindasamy, tactical manager at PT Alarms, told TimesLIVE: “Fortunately there were no injuries. Relief teams are trying to establish how many dwellings have been burnt.”
Firefighters managed to contain the fire.
The provincial cooperative governance and traditional affairs department said it had deployed disaster response teams to the scene
“Disaster response teams were dispatched to combat the blaze and prevent further damage. An update will be provided once the situation is under control,” it said.
Two years ago 500 families were left homeless after a fire razed several homes. eThekwini municipality said at the time: “As part of long-term solutions, there are plans to relocate the residents to identified land in uMkhomazi, which is not far from where they reside. This will be a safer and decent place for them to live.”
In 2022 15 shacks were destroyed and a man died when a fire swept through the settlement.
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