Five Durban siblings burnt to death when their shack caught alight in the early hours of Saturday morning, the eThekwini fire department said.
Four teenagers, one carrying a baby, were unable to escape flames in the shack because burglar gates on it were locked, said department divisional commander Dennis Govender.
”The mother had locked the children and had gone out, and this is why the children were unable to escape,” he said.
The fire spread quickly and destroyed another 20 shacks at the Cato Crest informal settlement.
Govender said the siblings, four boys and a girl, were burnt beyond recognition.
He said a candle is believed to have fallen on a bed in the shack.
The mother apparently returned home after she heard other residents screaming as their shacks caught on fire.
The mother was too traumatised to speak or provide details about the children’s ages to authorities on the scene. Provincial paramedics treated her for shock.
No other injuries were reported but families from the affected shacks have been left displaced. — Sapa