Police are investigating the cause of a fire that killed a 5-year-old boy and injured his mother after a blaze broke out at the Sun City informal settlement in Van Aarde Street, Sir Lowry’s Pass in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The City’s Fire and Rescue spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, said: “At about 2.38am on Saturday, fire and rescue responded to reports that an informal structure was on fire in Van Aarde Street.
“The woman, who sustained burn wounds, was treated on the scene before being transported to a nearby hospital by Metro ambulance.
“The fire was extinguished at 3.33am and the scene handed over to the SAPS Forensics unit.”
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut said the circumstances behind the blaze were being investigated and that a death inquest docket had been registered.
This is the second incident in which a young child had died in a fire at their home this week.
A 6-year-old boy died when his house caught alight in Steenberg on Thursday.
Yesterday, members of the Somerset West community policing forum organised a drive to collect donations for the family who had lost all their belongings in the blaze.
Residents worked with relatives to scour through the rubble to salvage what they could before the site was cleared and they could rebuild.