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Thousands are going to spend the night with no roofs over their heads
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December 03, 2005, 18:15
Around 500 shacks were destroyed today in a devastating fire that broke out at the Du Noon informal settlement in Milnerton in the Cape Peninsula.
Western Cape disaster management is busy arranging temporary shelters for the more than 2 000 people who have been left homeless by the blaze. One man sustained slight burn wounds.
Residents claim that the fire would not have destroyed as many shacks if the firefighters had not ran out of water. They say there was no help for about 15 minutes because there are no fire hydrants in their area.
Helicopters were used to collect water to douse the flames.A spokesperson for the fire department says 10 fire engines were dispatched to the scene.
Disaster management will accomodate the homeless in temporary shelters and hand over food and blankets tonight.
Fire under control
Greg Pillay, the emergency spokesperson, said the fire started shortly after 3pm. "One person caught up in the blaze was seriously hurt and taken to hospital. The cause of the fire is still unknown."
He said a helicopter and light aircraft were earlier called in, and brought the fire under control. "Everything is under control now. We will begin dampening off the area in a few minutes." - Additional reporting by Sapa
http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/social/0,2172,117425,00.html |
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