Two siblings from Kalksteenfontein died in a fire on Monday after their mother allegedly locked them up inside the wendy house and left with their baby sibling.
Their grandmother is in a critical condition after trying to save them. Janecke Gross,4 and Nocolia Gross 7, were trapped inside when the fire broke out in Soetkop Street. By the time neighbours noticed, the flames were already uncontrollable.
When the Cape Argus sister publication, the Daily Voice arrived at the gutted residence in Soetkop Street, community members were cleaning the debris. The wendy house which was situated in the front yard was burned to the ground.
Neighbour Mauricia Sondagh said the incident happened after 7pm when her son went to call the girls for supper and that was when he noticed the fire. "He ran back shouting, (‘mummy kom help, dit brand daarso’) 'mommy, come help, it's burning!" she said.
"Flames were coming out the door." Their grandmother ran inside, but the flame was too strong and they had to pull her out through the roof."
Residents say this wasn't the first time the girls' mother, had locked them inside alone.
She adds: “When the community called the mother to say her place was burning, she just threw the key and kept walking. She never came to check and till now we haven’t seen their mother yet.”
Another neighbour said they could not hear if the minors were shouting because the church was busy with sound check.
City’s Fire & Rescue Service Jermaine Carelse confirmed that firefighters were alerted at 7.10pm of a dwelling alight in Soetkop Street.
"Crews from Epping and Bellville were dispatched to the scene and found two informal structures alight. By 8.30pm, firefighters managed to extinguish the fire that destroyed two informal structures and partially damaged two formal dwellings." The bodies of the minors were discovered beneath the debris.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation and the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
Cape Argus
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