Nelspruit: 08 July 2022- Two children, a four-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister were badly burnt to death with their 31-year-old mother in the early hours of today, 8 July 2022 around 00:30 am at Klarinet Extention 3 in Witbank. Police in the Mpumalanga Province are so much concerned about these heart-breaking incidents in which children are killed as a result of fire. The two incidents sadly occurred in a space of about four days as this one follows the one which took place on Monday, 04 July 2022 at Hendrina.
According to the information, the mother was with her son and daughter in their shack when the incident took place. The father (35) allegedly had just left them for shopping. It is said that the mother could have left a two plate stove on and it is suspected that the family might have been using the stove to warm themselves up as it was cold. Further allegations is that the mother fell asleep whilst the stove was still on. The shack caught fire and engulfed in flames with the mother and the two minors inside. The three could not be saved and were unfortunately certified dead on the scene. Police at Witbank are investigating three counts of inquest following the incident.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has sent a message of condolences to the family and further urged members of the public to avoid unsafe methods of getting warm during this extreme cold conditions which is exacerbated by load shedding experienced throughout the country. " The incident is regrettable. Though we understand the situation that we find ourselves in but we still cautioned the public to always consider safety first whenever they attempts to warm themselves from the chilling conditions" urged the General.