By Johnathan Paoli
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has been left reeling after two separate structural fires claimed eight lives over the weekend, including five children from the same family, in the Umdoni and KwaDukuza municipalities.
Speaking for the MEC, spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila said Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi, while “deeply saddened” by the devastating loss of life, has immediately dispatched senior officials from the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) to coordinate humanitarian assistance and support for the affected families.
“The MEC for CoGTA, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has expressed condolences to all the affected families. The MEC will also be paying a special visit to the affected families to provide interim relief,” Mzila said.
The first incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday in the Nongoloza area of Ward 5 of the Umdoni Local Municipality on the province’s south coast.
Three people from two neighbouring households, the Cibane and Dlamini families, died when flames tore through their informal dwellings shortly after midnight.
Mzila confirmed that in Umdoni, disaster management teams found two households destroyed by fire.
“From the report received from the disaster management centre in the area of Nongoloza, under the Umdoni local municipality, a structural fire took place after midnight, where three members of the Cibane and Dlamini families lost their lives,” he said.
Two members of the Cibane family died when flames engulfed their informal dwelling.
The Dlamini family also lost a loved one in what authorities believe may have been a related blaze.
Preliminary reports suggest that an unattended candle could have sparked one of the fires, although investigations are ongoing.
Mzila said the provincial disaster management centre had moved swiftly to assist the grieving families.
In a separate tragedy hours later, five minors aged between one and 19 perished when a shack caught alight in Shaka’s Head, under the KwaDukuza Local Municipality on the north coast.
According to reports, the fire broke out at around 5am.
The victims were a pair of 1-year-old twins, a 3-year-old, a 14-year-old and a 19-year-old.
Human Settlements spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said emergency teams found the home completely consumed by flames upon arrival.
The children’s mother, Ntombovuyo Menemene, managed to escape the inferno while rescuing a two-year-old child.
Both were transported to hospital for further medical care, while the father, Sivuyile Noyila, escaped with minor injuries.
Authorities have opened inquests into both incidents to determine their exact causes.
In the Shaka’s Head fire, it is understood that an electrical fault may have been responsible, although this has not yet been confirmed.
A SAPS forensic team has taken the remains of the five children for further investigation.
KZN MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma also expressed condolences and assigned a team to assist the KwaDukuza Municipality in supporting the surviving family members.
Officials are currently liaising with the father, who is expected to receive trauma counselling.
The twin tragedies have highlighted the vulnerability of families living in informal settlements, where overcrowding, unsafe heating and lighting methods, and limited access to emergency services often contribute to deadly fires.
Authorities said they would continue to assess the damage and provide relief as affected families begin the painful process of rebuilding their lives.
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