Cape Town - The deaths of five people in BM Section, Khayelitsha, were “tragic”, Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille said at their memorial service on Wednesday afternoon.
“Today we remember and mourn Luyanda Ngcebetshane, Lunga Krexe, Sivuyile Gqodo, Nkosiyako Lako, and Zukile Magada,” she said in a speech prepared for delivery.
“Their lives have been brought to a tragic and premature end.”
Four of them died in the fire, which destroyed over 800 shacks on New Years Day. Krexe died later in hospital, where he was being treated for burns to 80 percent of his body.
De Lille said the city had strengthened its resolve to prevent similar tragedies in future.
“I have, over the past week, held meetings with the community to address both their immediate needs and the longer-term future of BM section.”
She extended the city's condolences to the families and friends of the five. - Sapa