Two die in separate Nelson Mandela Bay home fires

A 22-year-old woman died when the house she was looking after caught alight on Sunday morning.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said Laaiqah Merrington and her husband woke up to the smell of smoke in the Highfield Road, Schauderville house at about 1am.

“She jumped out of bed and woke her husband who was sleeping next to her. The husband had recently undergone a knee operation and made his way outside thinking that she was already outside,” he said.

“Only after the fire was extinguished did they find her body inside the house.”

Labans said the husband was in shock and unable to give further details at this stage.

“The cause of the fire is also unknown at this stage and we are awaiting the Fire inspectors report,” he said.

Labans said that the couple were looking after Merrington’s mother's house while she is in Cape Town.

“The next-of-kin has been informed of this tragic incident,” he said.

An inquest case is under investigation pending the Fire Department’s report on the cause of the fire.

In another incident, charred remains were found in a gutted shack in Tromp Street, Missionvale, on Sunday morning.

“The man left his girlfriend at the shack at about 7:30am on Saturday and went to the tavern. When he returned, the shack was already gutted and he could not find his girlfriend,” Labans said.

“This morning human remains were found under the debris. At this stage it is unknown who the deceased is and the bones have been taken for forensic analysis.”