S.Africa: 8 killed in Durban orphanage fire

By Shu’eib Hassen

DURBAN, South Africa (AA) – A fire swept through a Durban orphanage in the early hours Thursday, taking the lives of eight male orphans.

“Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire and secure the area by 6.00 am [0400GMT],” Medical Services Media Liaison Robert Mckenzie told Anadolu Agency. “Four of the orphans were age 10 or below while three were teens, and the other was age 21.”

A staff member at the Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre in Parlock, north of the eastern coastal town of Durban, was able to get 10 boys to safety during the chaos, in which four sustained “serious to minor injuries,” according to a KwaZulu-Natal Health Department press release.

The children were treated and taken to Addington Hospital for medical care.

Mckenzie said, “The cause of the fire is still unknown at this stage.”

The male orphan dormitory remains standing but has been reduced to ash and rubble inside.

The separation of the dormitory cottages prevented the fire from spreading rapidly to other sections of the orphanage.

Police spokesperson Lt. Col. Thulani Zwane said, “The children were sleeping when the fire happened. We can only hope that they passed away peacefully in their sleep.”

The Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre has been in operation since 1958, caring for some 60 children.

The Child Welfare Durban and District (CWDD) confirmed to Anadolu Agency that staff has been deployed to assess the situation and will be able to devise a strategy of social care for those affected by the fire.

Children at the orphanage are normally sent to their guardians during their school holidays, but these young people had nowhere to go.

“The school’s third term is set to recommence this Monday, unfortunately, and sadly there will be some who will not be returning to school,” said CWDD Secretary Nandi Kweymna.

CWDD is asking the public to spend 67 minutes on Monday’s Mandela Day at one of its facilities in memory of those affected by the tragic fire.