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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Two people died and four informal dwellings were razed by fire in the early hours of Saturday morning, 30 March.
According to confirmed reports, the Mossel Bay Fire and Disaster Management Services were contacted shortly after 01:00 on Saturday regarding a raging fire among informal dwellings just off Mbandesi Road in Asla Park.
Two people in one of the dwellings died. Neighbours identified the female victim as Khanyisa Mkohla (35) and the male victim as Mkohla's boyfriend's brother, Lukhanyo Vika (29), also known as BoyBoy.
When the Mossel Bay Advertiser visited the scene on Saturday, two young boys were raking, and another used a spade to level one of the stands where a home was destroyed. While several neighbours and residents gathered in a walkway at the scene of the fire in support of the victims who lost all their belongings, the boys continued their work unabated.
Bystanders said they were planning to rebuild the houses, yet lacked building material. The victims barely managed to save anything from the fire and fled the flames with little more than the clothes they were wearing at the time.
Warped pieces of corrugated iron and the burnt remains of household items - such as a two-plate stove - remained among the rubble.
Two of the victims of the fire, Amanda Mafumana and Mawethu Gatweni, were still visibly shocked by what had happened. Mafumana repeatedly said how happy she was that her baby survived the ordeal. She and the other victims now live with friends and family in the vicinity.
Councillor Jeanette Gouws of the ACDP was quick to respond when news of the incident became available and called on the greater Mossel Bay community to assist the fire victims with clothing, shoes, baby products, bedding, and non-perishable food.
Warped pieces of corrugated iron were all that remained after the devastating fire.
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