Seventy people were left homeless and a toddler was killed when fire spread through shacks in KwaDabeka near Pinetown on Wednesday.
Sanele Mene, 13 months old, burnt to death when he wandered into his family’s shack soon after it was set alight by a toppled paraffin stove.
Pinetown police spokesperson Superintendent Danelia Veldhuizen said the boy’s mother had left a pot of mealies on the burning stove while she went outside to fetch water from a nearby tap.
Fanned by the wind, the flames leapt through the tightly packed informal settlement, destroying 40 shacks before it was extinguished.
Disaster management provided food and blankets to the 70 people — including young children — who lost most of their possessions in the blaze.
The councillor for the area has arranged shelter for them in the local community hall, said Veldhuizen.
No one was else was injured in the incident, Veldhuizen added. — Sapa