A Shoprite store in Khayelitsha, Cape Town went up in flames on Tuesday morning as South Africans went shopping for essentials ahead of the national lockdown President Cyril Ramaphosa announced to the nation on Monday night.

It is understood that the fire started before 08:00 when the store was still closed.

City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse told News24 the fire crew was already hard at work.

“They are going to be there for a very long time,” he said.

The national lockdown kicks off at midnight on Thursday.

ANC councillor for Ward 95, Patrick Mngxunyeni, said he did not think the store would open soon, judging by what he could see at the scene.

“It’s quite huge damage.”

He added: “The morale is completely down.

“They are more worried about their state of health going forward. Coronavirus becomes very serious when it is colder. So people are extremely worried about how this will affect their health towards winter.”

Source: News24