A 4-month-old girl was killed and two other woman injured early this morning after a fire broke at an informal settlement on the corners of Old Greytown and Khan Road in Pietermaritzburg.
ER24 paramedics arrived on the scene shortly after 00h00 this morning and found that a number of shacks had caught alight.
Fire services had already begun to extinguish the blaze prior to the arrival of paramedics.
Once the blaze had been extinguished, paramedics and fire services found the body of a 4-month-old girl lying amongst the remains of one the shacks.
Unfortunately, the child had already succumbed to her multiple, fatal injuries. Nothing more could be done for the child and she was declared dead on scene.
The mother and friend were also assessed and found to have sustained only minor burn wounds. Both patients were treated and thereafter transported to Northdale Hospital for further treatment.
The cause of the fire is not yet known but local authorities were on scene for further investigations.
Russel Meiring
ER24 Spokesperson