File
Three children and an adult died in a shack fire in the Marathon informal settlement in Germiston on Sunday evening.
"The children, aged nine, seven, and two, as well as a 43-year-old woman, all burnt beyond recognition in what was one of the most gruesome fire incidents this winter," said the City of Ekuhuleni's William Ntladi.
He says on arrival, several shacks were already destroyed.
"After the lames were extinguished, the bodies of three siblings from one shack and an adult from another were found", Ntladi said.
The children's mother escaped with minor burn wounds.
The cause of the fire is suspected to be a paraffin stove left unattended in one of the shacks.
Police have opened an inquest docket.
- Jacaranda FM
