One of the three men who perished when their home caught fire over the weekend in Jouberton, outside of Klerksdorp, in the North West, might have survived had the nearby Tshepong hospital been operational.
This is according to members of the community who awoke on Saturday night to a dense cloud of smoke and a raging fire that had engulfed the house killing Lisekho Mahlahlana (17), Sanele Sibanana (20) and Lonwabo Mkatshwa (28).
The three men come from the Eastern Cape and are all related and were sharing and renting the Jouberton house together. A neighbour Msibi Mbele said that once they were able to put out the fire, they discovered that two of the men were already dead and the other was still alive.
Mbele said after rushing him to the nearby Tshepong Hospital, which is approximately a kilometre away, the people at the entrance refused to let them in, saying they were part of the staff members who had joined in the Nehawu strike.
“We attempted to explain that it was an emergency and that he (the deceased) could need oxygen but we were unable to get help; it’s sad that we could not do anything about it. They said they could not let us in due to the nationwide Nehawu strike,” she said.
A family representative Sive Msikwa said a forensic investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire.
“We do not know what caused the fire, some suspect a stove because it happened just minutes after the electricity came back, but we would not want to speculate. There is a fire forensic team that is supposed to come here today, we hope that they will be able to tell us what really killed our loved ones,” he said.
Msikwa said the family was struggling financially and busy donating money to move the three men’s remains to the Eastern Cape where they are expected to be buried.
According to North West police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Funani, an inquest docket has been opened and the police are investigating the case.
