Some Kruger Park flats ablaze in Pretoria CBD

The 18-storey Kruger Park flats in the Pretoria CBD is being gutted by fire. This comes after residents staged a protest against their eviction from Kruger Park as well as Schubart Park by the Tshwane Metro police and a private security company.

Two helicopters from the South African Air Force and three from the Police Service are assisting in the rescue operation at the burning Kruger Park flats in the Pretoria CBD. Some people have already been airlifted. An eyewitness says he saw two people jump from the burning building.

The fire started on the last three storeys of the 32-storey building. But it is not yet clear what caused the blaze or if it is related to the ongoing protests by residents of the flat against their eviction.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Last week, Tshwane Mayor Gwen Ramokgopa earmarked the Kruger Park and Schubart Park council flats for renovation saying that they were not safe to live in. The situation turned ugly this morning when metro police and a private security firm attempted to remove residents from the flats.