Woman killed in veld fire
Woman killed in veld fire
8 September 2008
published by www.dispatch.co.za
South Africa — A 68-YEAR-OLD woman died in Eshowe during veld fires in KwaZulu-Natal, police said on Saturday.
Spokesperson Inspector Mbongeni Mdla- lose said the woman was in a hut in her homestead at Emabhudle Reserve in KwaKhoza, Eshowe when she saw fires approaching her at about 5pm on Friday.
She ran and hid in a bush.
The fire caught her there and she died on the scene. Mdlalose said a 14-year-old girl was taken to hospital in Mbongolwane after she suffered from smoke inhalation.
He said ten houses were also reported to have been destroyed by veld fires in Gingindlovu, just outside Eshowe.
On Friday, 11 veld fires were reported across Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
On Saturday, Working on Fires advocacy manager Val Charlton said weather had cooled considerably in the Lowveld.
She said it seemed there would be a weekend respite and that by today the danger of fires starting would flare up again.
Seven of South Africas nine provinces have been hit recently by over 100 fires fanned by strong winds.
Over 30 lives were lost in KwaZulu-Natal alone. There were some fatalities in other provinces, thousands of animals were killed, and tens of thousands of hectares of land destroyed.
