Xavier Radio Ug News 24 7
Sivuyile Noyila, the father of the five children who died when their shack caught alight at Shaka’s Head in Ballito, on the Durban north coast, is devastated.
The victims, aged between one and 19 years old, died tragically during the early hours of Saturday morning. Their mother is in a critical condition in the hospital after braving the blaze in an attempt to save the children.
JUST IN | Five children from the same family have died in a fire at a house in Ballito in the north coast of Durban. Nonhlakanipho Magwaza reports. pic.twitter.com/sZysL9d4ch
— SABC News (@SABCNews) February 28, 2026
It’s reported that one child survived the ordeal. Reflecting on the incident, Sivuyile Noyila says the children were sleeping in another room when they heard screams.
“We were playing snooker and watching soccer last night. I am unemployed, and I use this section of the shack to make money, so people come here to play snooker and watch soccer. I closed late, around midnight. My children were sleeping in the other section of the structure. A few minutes later, I heard my eldest child screaming for help. Their mother and I tried to push the door open, but we were overpowered by the blaze. We couldn’t save them as the house had been engulfed by fire,” says
Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements says it is providing immediate support to the surviving family members.
The department’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, says, “We are looking at providing groceries because they are in need, as a group of relatives from the Eastern Cape has just arrived. We are also assisting the family with documentation, as their Home Affairs documents were destroyed. The MEC has spoken to the MEC for Social Development so that social workers can be brought in. This is to ensure that the family receives much-needed counselling. All in all, it is a very tragic day.”
Sibiya says the MEC for Health has also assigned a team of dedicated health professionals who are looking after the surviving mother and the little child who survived.
VIDEO | Five siblings die in devastating Ballito house fire; parents hospitalised
www.sabcnews.com, https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/5-children-die-in-ballito-shack-fire-family-receives-support/
