4-year-old boy dies in Brakpan house fire

JOHANNESBURG - A four-year-old boy has died after a fire broke out in a house in Brakpan, east of Johannesburg, on Sunday morning.

It’s understood that the fire started in one of the children’s bedrooms. 

Firefighters in the city were alerted to the scene following calls from the community of a house on fire with a family trapped inside.

Both parents, including their other two-year-old child, managed to escape, but the four-year-old boy remained stuck inside.

The parents and the two-year-old sibling sustained minimal injuries and smoke inhalation.

City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson William Ntladi said one of the neighbours sustained a minor right-hand laceration, and all the injured have been sent to the nearby hospital.

“On arrival, part of the roof had already collapsed, flames were threatening the other structures nearby. They managed to contain the blaze and extinguish it. 

“Unfortunately, on our search, rescue and recovery, we discovered a charred body of a 4-year-old boy under the rubble, as it was also information received on our arrival.”