Elderly women die in flames
2008-05-22
A SHACK fire caused the gruesome death of two elderly women on Saturday evening. A fire broke out in the informal settlement of Lovers Lane, Lantana, shortly after midnight, razing three houses to the ground. Many residents grabbed buckets and tried to douse the flames of the house in which two old ladies were living. One onlooker said that she could hear the terrifying screams coming from within the house, but it was already engulfed in flames, and nobody could enter. One resident, Amos Matroos, tried to rush into the inferno, only to suffer burn wounds himself. The fire brigade was quick on the scene and managed to douse the flames, before the fire could spread further through the squatter camp. Lena Nofundile (72) was found barely alive amongst the rubble, while her friend, Gladys Mbana (72), had been killed by the fire. Nofundile’s injuries were so severe that she could not be transferred from Paarl Hospital to Tygerberg Hospital. She succumbed to her wounds early on Monday morning. The residents of the other two homes escaped without injury, but lost all their belongings in the flames. After the devastating fire, questions are once again being asked about the lack of housing in the area. A community leader said that there are people who have been waiting for houses for twenty years to no avail. “Another very worrying factor is the lack of adequate facilities for the aged. “Lena and Gladys are two typical examples of elderly people who were left in desperate conditions in their old age, with nobody to look after them. “These issues must be addressed!” The cause of the fire is yet unknown.
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