A Mother’s Heartbreak: Woman Loses Two Children in Deadly Johannesburg Fire
A mother’s decision to bring her two children from Umsinga, KwaZulu Natal to Johannesburg in January has ended in unimaginable tragedy.
In the early hours of this morning, as a hijacked building in the Johannesburg CBD was engulfed in flames, her two young children, aged 4 and 7, were tragically burnt beyond recognition. At the time, the mother, Van Wyk Ngcobo (29), was outside the building, where she worked as a hawker.
Double Tragedy: Mother Loses 2 Children in Inferno
The distraught Ngcobo, unable to speak, asked her friend and neighbor, Nqobile Lamula, to share her heartbreaking story with Zimoja. Both Ngcobo and Lamula had been residents of Usindiso Place of Safety for Women and Children for over five years. Lamula explained,
“I had been staying there for a while before the landlord decided to evict me because I refused to pay since the place was designed to cater for women and children. The place became unruly after they started renting out rooms to men and foreign nationals.”
On the fateful day, Ngcobo had left her children in their room, assuming they were safe, as they had been since their arrival in Joburg in January.
A Tragic Effort to Save
Describing the tragic events, Lamula revealed that when they saw the fire, they rushed toward the building in an effort to rescue two of Ngcobo’s neighbor’s children, but the fire’s intensity prevented them from entering.
“My neighbor is a street vendor, and we often spend time together at her fruit and vegetable stand. When we saw flames engulfing the building, we rushed toward it to rescue two of my neighbor’s kids, but the fire’s intensity prevented us from entering.
Overwhelming Tragedy
Lamula shared the overwhelming pain of witnessing Ngcobo’s loss, mentioning that she is still in disbelief.
“It is heartbreaking to see her going through this. She loved her children, and we did everything we could to prevent her from entering the burning building to rescue them.
She bemoaned how firefighters took long to arrive and extinguish the inferno.
The firefighters took time to arrive and extinguish the fire. I never thought, in my entire life, that I would experience something like this.”
Also Read: South Africa Mourns: 12 Children Among 74 Lives Lost in Devastating Johannesburg Fire
Losses Pile Up
Lamula also mentioned the loss of her laundromat business in the fire, saying,
“I survive by doing laundry for the people who stay in the building. I don’t know where my next meal will come from, as many people lost everything in the fire.”
She went on to blame the landlords for renting out the building to foreign nationals.
“I blame the fire on the self-appointed landlords who began renting the place to males and foreign nationals.”
The tragic incident has claimed 74 lives so far, with around 52 people injured, prompting the President to visit the scene in a show of support and solidarity.