THREE boys in North West lost their lives when the house they were sleeping in was destroyed by fire on Tuesday night.

The incident happened at Safe Haven for Children Orphanage in Hartbeespoort Dam.

Norman Khoza, 9, his brother Lawrence Khoza, 14, and their cousin Given Matla, 7, were placed at the centre temporarily after the Khoza brothers' mother died last year.

The orphanage's manager, Nelmare Eloff, said they were scheduled to be transferred to Mahikeng Orphanage in three weeks' time.

The three were sleeping in a wooden house when the incident happened.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

"We are still shocked because there was no heater or any flammable substance in their room, we do not know what caused the fire," Eloff said.

According to the police, Norman and Given left Lawrence in the kitchen before going to bed.

He later joined them in their bedroom, which is situated not far from the kitchen.

At about 21.15pm, a worker noticed flames coming from their room and immediately informed the authorities.

Despite the emergency services' bid to extinguish the fire, the boys were burnt beyond recognition.

The other 31 children who stay in separate rooms in the orphanage were not affected by the fire. They were yesterday reported to be safe.

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Tue May 21 18:28:50 SAST 2013 ::

Jun 14, 2012

zondamanzi

shame 2 them
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Jun 14, 2012

cocolucho

Shame this is really sad. Just one question though. Why were they sleeping in a seperate and wooden house?
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Jun 14, 2012

BaleliM

There is more to this story
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Jun 14, 2012

ANGIESTONE

May their souls rest in peace!
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Jun 14, 2012

Galfrend

Sad Indeed! Yah neh, life can be cruel.
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Jun 14, 2012

tops

rest in peace kids.......indeed the something bitting water here. y they were sleeping in wooden house and the other 30 were in separate room...........kukhona okushaya amanti lah...

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Jun 14, 2012

MommaC

It would have cost about R50 to put a simple smoke detector in and that would have saved their lives.

Poor kids. They were dealt some really terrible cards in their short lives. I hope their next is kinder to them
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Jun 14, 2012

sabza007

There is lot of bad parenting in that province, from the kids that died of dehydration and hunger to others before this incident,where were the elders or parents??? Rest in peace my children.
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Jun 14, 2012

Tk-2006

This is tear-jerking indeed....
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Jun 14, 2012

lebloza

Very sad. May their soul rest in peace.
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