Zimbabwe: Two Die in Veld Fires
Zimbabwe: Two Die in Veld Fires
26 August 2009
published by allafrica.com
Zimbabwe — An 11-year-old boy from Tengwe in Mashonaland West died after getting caught in a veld fire as he walked along a footpath while his brother and sister escaped with serious and light injuries respectively.
In a separate incident, a man from Goromonzi in Mashonaland East was burnt to death while trying to put out a veld fire that had engulfed his hut. In the Tengwe incident, Ishmael Ndlovu was travelling to Shargazane Farm with his brother Loveit and sister Abigail when they were caught in a fast-moving veld fire.
They tried to evade the fire but on realising they could not outpace the blaze, they climbed a tree to seek refuge. However, the fire engulfed the trees around them prompting Abigail to jump down and run through the burning grass with Loveit and Ishmael soon following her lead. The panic-stricken siblings then fled in different directions.
Abigail sustained mild burns on the right eye, leg and hand while Loveit had severe burns all over the body. Ishmael sustained severe burns on the head. The two brothers went to Tengwe Clinic, from where they were immediately transferred to Karoi General Hospital owing to the severity of their burns.
Unfortunately, Ishmael died on the way to Karoi hospital. In the Goromonzi incident, England Kwaramba (53) of Gwaze village Chikwaka Communal Lands, died after his clothes caught fire as he and his two wives Shingirai Bandera and Lydia Snake tried to extinguish a veld fire that had engulfed their hut.
Police confirmed the two incidents.
