Eight people were killed and 19 others were displaced in the early hours of Saturday morning across Cape Town when their shacks in were engulfed in flames, the city’s fire and rescue department said.

A total of three men, three women and two girls were killed in four different areas, spokesperson Theo Layne said.

One woman and a girl died in Uitsig, Elsies River just after midnight. In Delft, a man and a woman were killed in Keisi Court.

Around three hours later, a man and two females aged 13 and 19 were killed in Mfuleni, Layne said.

Another man succumbed to his burn wounds around 06:30 in Vrygrond. The fire left 19 people displaced.

The city’s disaster risk management centre could not immediately provide about where the displaced residents were being kept and whether they intended on rebuilding their homes. News24