Image: Fredlin Adriaan
A Port Elizabeth man died during an early morning house fire on a smallholding in Theesecombe on Wednesday.
The house, at the corner of Pickwick Street and Kragga Kamma Road, has been left gutted after the fire ripped through the building from 3:35am.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said Kevin Dwyer, 59, died in the blaze.
"The family managed to escape during the fire but the man (Dwyer) unfortunately did not make it out of the house.”
Naidu said Dwyer’s wife, son and daughter woke to the smell of fire.
“They got up and saw fire coming from one of the bedrooms. They tried to assist but got out of the house as the flames spread,” she said.
“The fire department arrived a short while later but the fire had already spread to the rest of the house.”
Naidu said the cause of the fire was not yet known.
“We are awaiting the fire department report to determine the exact cause of the blaze. No foul play is suspected,” she said.
An inquest case is under investigation.