A pilot from Working On Fire who was battling fires in the Vermaaklikeid area in the Garden Route has been killed after his helicopter crashed on Tuesday morning.
The pilot's name is known to Algoa FM News but is being withheld until his next of kin has been informed.
Linton Rensburg of Working On Fire confirmed that "there was an incident in the Stillbaai area with one of our helicopters".
He said that emergency services were at the scene at the time of writing.
Earlier, it was reported that fires burning in the Hessequa Municipality area since Sunday destroyed seven homes.
More than 50 from WOF, Garden Route District Municipality, George and Hessequa Municipalities as well as volunteers from the farming community were battling the fires.
Temperatures in the area are expected to rise into the 30's on Tuesday with strong winds also being reported.
