A mother and her two-year-old daughter died in a fire that destroyed three bungalows and left 10 people homeless.
|||Cape Town - A mother and her two-year-old daughter died in a fire that destroyed three bungalows and left 10 people homeless in Vrygrond.
The bodies of Magda Cloete and two-year-old Tallulah were found by rescuers beneath the rubble when the blaze was extinguished early on Sunday.
Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, spokesman for the city’s Disaster Risk Management Centre, said it was understood Cloete was pregnant.
Cloete had a second child, who had been away for the weekend. Two people received burns.
Neighbours said it was not clear what caused the fire or where it had started, but Solomons-Johannes said it was suspected a fallen candle had set bedding alight.
The fire was reported to rescuers at 4.21am.
Firefighters had found the three structures “engulfed in flames” in the back garden of a house in Frederick Road, said Solomons-Johannes.
The bodies were found half an hour later.
Neighbours said on Sunday the surviving child had been staying with her father in Steenberg.
One of the injured, Trust Chinake, received burns to his face while trying to save his possessions.
“The doctor said I wasn’t burnt badly,” he said, adding that he was in pain. He had been taken to Retreat Hospital for treatment.
His house had been saved, but his car damaged. Ten people living in the surrounding area also lost their homes.
Cloete’s friends were shocked at her death, and many gathered near the house. Neighbours arrived to help clear the debris. They found Cloete’s ID book and other documents.
Jennifer Adams, who lived in one of the three bungalows, lost all she owned in the fire.
Adams, 33, said she had been awakened by one of her neighbours.
Her first instinct was to get her three children out of the bungalow, she said. She commended the neighbour, Priscilla Claasen, who sounded the alarm after waking and seeing a glow from her window.
natasha.prince@inl.co.za
Cape Argus
