Six firefighters tragically lost their lives on Sunday while attempting to put out a raging veldfire in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.
According to emergency service officials, the fire erupted in the Boston area of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands near the provincial capital Pietermaritzburg.
Three female firefighters died while trying to putting the fire, while another three succumbed to their injuries in hospital, Midlands EMS spokesperson Roland Robertson
said.
Provincial government officials said the incident brings the total number of lives lost to runaway fires in KwaZulu-Natal to 13.
Over 13,000 hectares of grazing land have been destroyed, prompting calls for disaster declarations and additional support to manage the crisis and aid recovery efforts.
JN/APA