One dead in Effingham informal settlement fire
A woman has died in a fire that ripped through
more than 20 dwellings at the Effingham informal settlement in Durban North.
The eThekwini Fire Department's Bheki Hadebe said it took about two hours to bring Sunday night's blaze under control.
He said they struggled to get to the scene.
"The informal structures are built very close to the road, but eventually we managed to access the fire and put it out, and unfortunately, one person was found to have died from the fire," said Hadebe.
"In terms of the cause, that is still a matter of further investigation."
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The victim has been identified as 29-year-old Ayanda Ziqethu, originally from Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape.
KZN Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said the department is working with police and other departments to fast-track interventions.
"We are talking here about more than 20 to 28 family members who are displaced. The MEC is in liaison with the Minister of Human Settlements at the national level, as well as the mayor of eThekwini.
"There is a roving team from human settlements, national and provincial, working with the disaster management in eThekwini."
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