Durban - Police are probing the deaths of two men following a fire at a building in Potchefstroom at the weekend.
Spokesperson for ER24, Russel Meiring, said they were alerted to the incident after a man was brought to the Ikageng police station at around 5am on Sunday.
“When the man was assessed, medics found that he sustained burn wounds over most of his body, leaving him in a severe condition.
“The man was treated and provided with advanced life support before he was transported to a nearby hospital for further care,” he said.
Later that same morning, ER24 medics along with Mooirivier Beskerming First Responders were called to an abandoned building in the Potchefstroom Industrial area.
Meiring said that at the scene medics found a man with numerous burn wounds lying far away from the building. The man was treated and provided with advanced life support before he was transported to a nearby hospital for urgent care.
“Local security members later inspected the building and found two bodies inside. Unfortunately, both patients had already succumbed to their numerous burn injuries. Nothing could be done, and they were declared dead by the Mooirivier Beskerming First Responders. The exact details surrounding this incident are unknown, but local authorities were on the scene for further investigations,” Meiring said.
SAPS spokesperson in the North West, Captain Aafje Botma, said: “An inquest is being investigated after the bodies of two men were discovered at a small room at an abandoned building in the industrial area in Potchefstroom on Sunday morning. The men were allegedly living there. A third man was also injured and reported it to a security guard.”
Botma added that the two men who survived the ordeal were taken to hospital.
“The identities of the men are unknown at this stage and the cause of the fire are being investigated,” she said.
IOL