POTCHEFSTROOM - Police in Christiana have opened an inquest docket after five members of a family perished in a house at Marikana Geluksoord in the early hours of Sunday morning, 17 July 2022.

It is alleged that a man went out of his house at about 03:30 and noticed a smoke coming out of a neighbour’s house. He rushed to the house and found all doors locked and windows closed. The man ran back to his house where he fetched an iron rod. While alerting others about the incident, he went back to the house where he broke and opened all the doors and the windows. After the smoke had subsided, he and other neighbours entered the house and discovered that the ceiling and a few household goods had burned. Furthermore, they found the bodies of two children, aged 8 and 15 in the sitting room. In the other room, they found the body of a three-year-old boy child while the two bodies of the couple, aged 38 and 48 were found in the main bedroom. All the victims were declared dead at the scene by Emergency Medical and Rescue Services (EMRS) paramedics.

The cause of the fire is unknown and no foul play is suspected at this stage. Investigation into the matter continues.

Source: South African Police Service