Cape Argus: Ash Monday

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Ash Monday
October 20 2008 at 12:07PM

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By Clayton Barnes and Jade Witten

Four people were killed and about 60 shacks destroyed when fires broke out in Athlone and KTC.

In KTC more than 35 shacks were destroyed and hundreds of residents were left homeless after a fire raged through the informal settlement early this morning.

Like the fire that destroyed about 25 shacks in the Violet Cottage informal settlement in Athlone on Monday, the KTC fire is also believed to have been started by a candle that had been left burning.

The KTC fire started at 12,45am and residents say they were woken by screams and the smell of smoke before fleeing their shacks, many with only the clothes on their backs.

A 69-year-old grandmother, Edith Maqungo, who only managed to grab her grandson and a jacket, said this morning that she had lost everything.

“We have nowhere to go now, the government can’t expect us to live like this forever. They should build houses for us here. Every year shacks are destroyed in fires. People lose everything and we can’t go on like this.”

Maqungo’s 16-year-old grandson, Lubabalo, lost all his school books and clothes in the blaze, just weeks before the start of the final exams.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Jennifer Links’s mother is battling to come to terms with her daughter’s death after she and three others were killed in the Athlone fire in the early hours of of Sunday.

Christine Links said she woke on Sunday to cries for help from fellow residents at about 4am, but was unaware that the fire had already claimed her daughter’s life.

Jennifer, who celebrated her birthday last month, had been living with her boyfriend, Amadi Norbet.

“I can’t believe she burnt to death. I feel so sad that she isn’t here anymore,” said Links.

According to Links, Jennifer’s friend, who is only known as Chantal, had been visiting from Bellville-South for the weekend and was also killed. The other two victims were Ishmaeel Saeed and his wife Gena.

By Sunday morning only charred debris littered the area, while a building adjacent to the settlement in Hadji Ebrahim Crescent, Athlone was partially gutted.

The building belongs to businessman Mukhtar Karbary, who is owner of nearby Mukhtar’s Hiring Services.

Karbary said this was the fourth fire in the informal settlement but the first time a fire had reached his warehouse. The first floor of the building was destroyed and Karbary estimated property damage and the loss of stock to be around R1-million.

Athlone police spokesperson Captain Andre Venter confirmed the deaths and said the fire is believed to have started from a candle that had fallen over.

Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the displaced people had been offered refuge in the Athlone Civic Centre.

o This article was originally published on page 5 of Cape Argus on October 20, 2008