APA-Pretoria (South Africa) President Cyril Ramaphosa has consoled the families of six South African soldiers who died when a veld fire struck an army training centre in the country’s Northern Cape province.
Six South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members died and three others were seriously injured following a runaway veld fire at the Lohatla military base. The troops were part of a military exercise.
“President Ramaphosa offers his deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased SANDF members,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said in a statement on Sunday.
According to the SANDF, the fire originated from a nearby mine before rolling over into the western part of the combat training centre.
The runaway veld fire was driven by strong winds that reached up to 70 kilometres per hour.
JN/APA