South Africa: Deadly Fire Near A Refinery In Durban

At least two people died in a fire in Durban, South Africa on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the medical services said the fire started around 3 a.m. near a Transnet fuel refinery in Jacobs.

After putting the fire under control a few hours later, the teams were able to carry out the evacuations. Several people are currently under surveillance for inhaling smoke.

The area destroyed by the flames include commercial buildings. Transnet Pipelines spokesperson Saret Knoetze suggested that people could have tampered with the fuel line of the refinery.

“Transnet Pipelines received notification of a fire at Horseshoe Road which is in close proximity to the fuel pipeline. The Transnet Pipelines National Operations Centre immediately shut down the pipeline and activated the emergency response plan,” she said.

For the oil company Transnet, the fire would have started during an attempt to steal fuel. The company claims to have been regularly subject to theft of oil from its infrastructure over the past two years.

The exact cause of the fire is not clear and is still under investigation by police and emergency services.