Uitenhage man dies in shack fire

A 76-year-old man died in a shack fire in Kwatsha Crescent, KwaNobuhle, on Thursday evening.

This marks the second death this week linked to home fires.

Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said that Nontozinzima Nkwinti’s body was found in the shack after the fire was extinguished at about 6.50pm.

“The family were in the main house when the informal house at the back caught fire. The family alerted the fire department. The police and the fire department were summoned to the scene and the fire was extinguished. It was only after the fire was extinguished that the body (Nkwinti) was discovered,” she said.

This comes after Kevin Dwyer, 59, died in a house fire on a smallholding in Theescombe 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.

The cause of both fires are unknown and subject to investigation.

Two inquest cases are being investigated.