Fire claims six lives at Durban Harbour
Written by Lethiwe Mdluli on 15 February, 2019
By: Lethiwe Mdluli
Police say they are currently investigating the cause of the fire that killed six people in a fishing vessel at the Durban Harbour.
Authorities are still on the scene where the six bodies were discovered by rescuers this morning.
Police spokesperson, Vishnu Naidoo, says the vessel had broken down and the men had been fixing it when the fire started.
“A Mozambican fishing vessel entered the Durban Harbour for repairs and while they were repairing, a fire broke out on the vessel which ultimately resulted in six people dying and three people being injured. The three that were injured initially were rescued from the vessel and two of them suffered smoke inhalation and the third suffered burns. The other six were trapped in the vessel and firefighters battled to put out the fire and eventually six bodies were retrieved from the vessel. We are investigating an inquest at this point in time and the purpose of the inquest is to determine the circumstances and the cause of death and once that is done the inquest prosecutor will make a determination on the way forward,” said Naidoo.
Meanwhile Rescue Care paramedics say they were called to the scene yesterday where they found the vessel engulfed in flames.
Spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson, says rescuers worked through the night and only found the bodies around 2 AM this morning.
“Firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the blaze and unfortunately this morning at around 2 AM a gruesome discovery was made where six men had passed away as severe injuries were obtained. The SAPS were on scene and investigation are continuing,” said Jamieson.
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