A man was arrested after he allegedly set fire to a house, killing four people in Bez Valley, Johannesburg, on Friday morning.
Three of the victims were children, said Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Steven Kirk.
The man allegedly started the fire in Kimberley Road shortly after midnight after having an argument with his girlfriend.
”When we got there, we found that a double garage at the back of a property was alight,” Kirk said.
”We treated a nine-year-old boy, but he died at the scene. While we were putting out the fire, we found three bodies — one female and two young children.”
Kirk said the bodies were severely charred. The children appeared to be aged between four and six. The woman appeared to be in her 20s.
Three others — a woman and two boys — were taken to hospital. The woman had 60% burns on her body. One of the boys was badly burnt and the other had lacerations all over his body.
The man who allegedly started the fire was arrested a short while later. — Sapa