One person has died after a fire swept through the Vusimuzi Informal Settlement in Thembisa, east of Johannesburg, destroying five shacks on Sunday night.
The blaze broke out shortly after 9pm, prompting a response from Ekurhuleni Emergency Management Services (EMS).
Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire may have been caused by the explosion of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder inside one of the shacks. However, police and fire safety officials are continuing to investigate the exact cause of the incident.
EMS spokesperson William Ntladi said firefighters conducted a rapid assessment on arrival before launching firefighting operations to prevent the blaze from spreading further.
He said the flames were successfully contained and extinguished using a single attack line.
Ntladi added that community members had already begun battling the fire using a bucket brigade system before emergency crews arrived, helping to slow the spread of the flames.
Paramedics found an adult man who had sustained critical burn injuries. He was declared dead at the scene.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.