On Sunday night, July 11, twin baby boys aged nine months died in a shack fire in Delft South. According to IOL, the twin boys were left unattended while sleeping by their parents and a candle was lit inside the shack at the time due to no electricity.
The fire started after 9pm on Stamperhout St and burnt the entire shack to the ground before the neighbours could take any further action.
“The shack is behind my house and they are my ‘backyarders’. Electricity was out and they left a candle on. By the time we realised there is a fire, it was too late,” said Mangaliso Tsotso.
“We are shocked at what happened. Such young babies to die like that. There is not much I can say, as the matter is still under investigation, but I can say there was no electricity and a candle was left on in that house,” Councillor Dineo Masiu, who lives on the same street said.
The firefighters extinguished the fire by 10:07pm and the bodies of the babies were declared dead on the scene after being found underneath the debris.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer, Joseph Swartbooi says an inquest has been opened by the Delft police.
“When the fire was extinguished, the lifeless bodies of two babies, aged nine months old, that succumbed due to their injuries, were discovered on the scene. It is unknown what caused the fire. The investigation continues,” said Swartbooi.
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