Shack fire kills two

 

Imogen Vollenhoven

1 November 2012

A shack fire has killed two people at Joe Slovo Park in Cape Town, Western Cape emergency services said on Saturday.

At 1.13am this afternoon a fire destroyed two informal structures at, Joe Slovo Park in Milnerton.

The blaze resulted in the displacement of four persons in the area. Ayanda Thuso, 27, and Mbongeni Siwa, 35, were declared dead on the scene by paramedics after failing to escape the blaze, said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

He said bystanders who worked tirelessly to extinguish the blaze but failed to save the lives of the victims would undergo trauma counselling.

 The City of Cape Town had conducted assessment and made arrangements for provision of food parcels, clothing, blankets and building material for the victims.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, the police have opened an inquest docket to investigate the incident.