Cape Town - Three young siblings were killed in a shack fire in Endlovini Informal Settlement, Khayelitsha, on Wednesday morning.
The tbodies of Nako Mbema, 13, Qamisa Mbema, 8, and Akhanyile Magamle, 4, were found after a blaze tore through the area.
Another child, a relative, is reportedly in ICU.
The family of 16 - 12 children and four adults - stay in one big structure that was razed.
Devastated grandmother Nopasika Magamle said everything happened fast, and they were still coming to terms with the tragedy.
According to City Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse, they were alerted just after midnight of a structure on fire in Khayelitsha.
Carelse said crews from Lansdowne, Mfuleni, Khayelitsha and Strand responded to the fire which destroyed the structure.
“Firefighters found the bodies of the two boys and a girl, whom sustained fatal burn wounds, among the debris at around 1am. The fire, of which the cause is unknown, was extinguished at about 1.20am,” said Carelse.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said a girl, 6, was taken to a medical facility for treatment after she sustained burn wounds to her body.
“Lingelethu West police registered an inquest after the bodies of two boys, 13 and four and a eight-year-old girl were discovered by fire and rescue services Wednesday morning after a fire at an informal dwelling in Endlovini North informal settlement,” said Twigg.
Anyone with information on the incident can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 0860 010 111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.
Cape Times
Now watch: