A tragic fire swept through a family’s home in the Marikana informal settlement, Ekurhuleni, early Monday morning, resulting in the deaths of six family members and leaving only one young survivor in critical condition.
William Tladi, spokesperson for Ekurhuleni emergency services, confirmed that the fire ignited in the early hours and quickly consumed the family’s four-room shack, where seven people were asleep at the time. Emergency services received the distress call at 3:08 am but by the time firefighters arrived, the shack was already fully engulfed in flames.
Despite courageous efforts from neighbours who tried to control the fire using buckets and containers of water, the blaze caused devastating loss of life. Among the victims were two toddlers, one approximately 18 months old and the other four years old, whose bodies were found badly burned beyond recognition. Also among those who perished were two older children, aged 12 and 20, as well as their parents, aged 42 and 47. The severity of the burns has made identifying the remains extremely difficult, complicating the grieving process for the family.
“The damage to the bodies is so severe that it’s heartbreaking and challenging to identify who is who,” Tladi said. “In some cases, only small fragments can be identified by the families. We have the full list of the family members and their ages and are carefully recovering the remains piece by piece from the rubble.”
The sole survivor is believed to be a seven-year-old girl who was discovered with serious burn injuries. She was quickly transported to hospital in critical condition and is currently receiving emergency medical care.
Tladi highlighted that the layout of the informal settlement played a crucial role in limiting the fire’s spread. “Fortunately, the area has been restructured more formally in recent years, creating space between homes. This spacing helped prevent the flames from engulfing neighbouring shacks. While the family’s four-roomed shack was destroyed entirely, nearby homes remained intact.”
Authorities have not yet determined what caused the fire. A joint investigation involving police and forensic experts is underway to establish the origin and circumstances of the blaze. Meanwhile, emergency teams continue to manage the scene, working carefully to recover the victims’ remains and arrange for their transfer to a pathology facility for further examination.
This heartbreaking incident highlights the ongoing vulnerability of families living in informal settlements, where fire risks remain high and emergency response can be complicated by densely packed housing and limited resources.