Fraud and corruption convict Schabir Shaik confirmed on Wednesday that police have opened an arson investigation after a fire in his Durban beachfront penthouse in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
”The penthouse has been sealed for a criminal investigation,” said a coughing and spluttering Shaik.
He said he had gone to bed early on Tuesday evening because of a migraine but was woken up by the sound of ”crackling near the window” a few hours later.
”It was like a towering inferno.”
He said there were four people, including himself and his wife, Zuleikha, in the penthouse on the 20th floor of the building when the fire broke out at about ”quarter to or 10 to two this morning”.
”I got them out and got them to call the police and fire brigade and then I went back to try and extinguish the blaze,” said Shaik.
He was later taken to hospital and was treated for smoke inhalation.
”My chest is very tight,” said Shaik.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Radebe said: ”The fire caused extensive damage to two bedrooms, while the rest of the house was affected by soot and water. The damage to the house is estimated at approximately R2-million at this stage.”
She said Shaik, his wife and two domestic workers were asleep in the penthouse at the time of the incident.
Radebe said the police’s arson experts were expected ”to conduct a more extensive assessment” at the scene on Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, a division commander in the eThekwini municipality’s fire department, Trevor Stevens, said no one was injured in the Yarningdale complex on the Marine Parade.
He said the building’s caretakers evacuated everyone, as well as residents of the upper half of the neighbouring block.
”It’s normal procedure to evacuate everyone,” Stevens said. — Sapa