Two die, 3,000 homeless in South Africa shack fire

Two die, 3,000 homeless in South Africa shack fire

Two die, 3,000 homeless in South Africa shack fire

Two people died and about 3,000 were left
homeless when a fire destroyed 800 shacks at the
Masiphumelele informal settlement in Cape Town
Sunday, officials said.
“Disaster risk management and the
South African Red Cross Service are on
scene to co-ordinate relief efforts
including providing food, baby packs,
mattresses and blankets,” mayor Patricia
de Lille said in a statement.
“At this stage the cause of the fire is
unknown and the incident was handed
over to the South African Police Service
for investigation.”
The settlement, near Fish Hoek on the
Southern Peninsula, has recently been
rocked by vigilante killings carried out
by residents who complain of a lack of
policing in the area.
Shack fires are a perennial threat to the
impoverished residents of sprawling
informal settlements near major cities
throughout South Africa.