The number of people who died in fires in the greater Knysna area has risen to seven.
Authorities reported on Sunday that the mother of the four-year-old Catherine Mathope, whose body was found at a dam in Welbedacht this week, had died in hospital.
She had died in hospital of the “severe burn injuries” she sustained in the fire that ravaged the town.
Police spokesperson, Captain Malcom Pojie, said that the woman, a Malawian national, was reported missing after her daughter’s body was found near a dam at Narnia Village in Welbedacht.
“A search ensued she was later found in a critical condition in Knysna Private Hospital,” he said. Pojie said the woman was transferred to a Cape Town hospital where she died.
“Details of the deceased will be released later,” he said.
Last week a volunteer fire-fighter from Plettenberg Bay died in hospital from severe injuries sustained while fighting the run-away fires.
