Hundreds left homeless after Cape Flats fire

Scores of informal settlement dwellers are displaced every year by the fires

Between 300 and 400 people were left homeless after a fire destroyed about 100 shacks at an informal settlement in Philippi on the Cape Flats this morning.

The fire, which started around 11am and spread rapidly in an 80km/h south-easterly wind, was put out quite quickly, John Brown, a City of Cape Town disaster management spokesperson, said.

He said those affected by the fire would be housed by the local community. The cause of the fire was unknown and no injuries were reported. - Sapa