Two teenagers aged 12 and 14 died in a blaze at Enkanini informal settlement on Saturday evening 25 June.
It is believed the siblings, Lihle Pike (12) and Sakhe (14) were left alone by their mother in the shack when the fire broke out. And their bodies were burnt beyond recognition.
The siblings’ aunt, Nombulelo Gangqa (50), said she was woken up by one of her children, who told her there was fire outside.
“People were making noise and I could hear them. I went out to investigate, and immediately my worry was about the whereabouts of the children.
“Some residents said kids were not inside the burning shack while others believed they were trapped there because they had heard their cries. Firefighters arrived after residents had partly put the fire out.”
The two bodies were found in the shack.
Gangqa said the tragedy has hurt them as a family.
“My sister collapsed on Sunday, and we had to rush her to hospital after this terrible ordeal,” she said. “We are not doing well at all, I couldn’t even sleep or eat afterwards.”
Gangqa said she was not working and relied on child-support grants to put food on the table.
“I don’t know where we are even going to begin to deal with this. We will appreciate any help we can get to bury our children in the Eastern Cape where we come from.”
She told City Vision she could still “hear” their voices in the back of her mind.
Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City’s Fire & Rescue Service, said the service was alerted to the incident at 23:13.
He said crews from Khayelitsha, Lansdowne and Mitchell’s Plain were on the scene.
“On their arrival it was found that a single structure was alight and firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze at 01:00. The bodies of the two male minors were discovered among the debris.”
Carelse said the cause of the fire had not yet been established and the scene was handed over to the South African Police Service.
Sgt Nosiphiwo Mntengwane, Harare police spokesperson, said police were called to the scene just before midnight.
“When are our members arrived at the scene firefighters were already there,” she said. “Police were shown the two bodies which were burnt beyond recognition.”
Mntengwane said no foul play was suspected and an inquest docket has been opened.
If anyone can help the family with the burial of their children they can contact Gangqa on 082 348 0237.. In a separate incident, a man died when a fire engulfed his shack in Endlovini informal settlement on Saturday evening, 25 June.
His mother identified the corpse, which had been burnt beyond recognition, even though (because of the state of the remains) an official DNA test was due to be performed on both the mother and the remains so the identification is conclusive.
Police have ruled out any foul play, and an inquest docket has been opened.
