Nursing students at Giyani Nursing College in Limpopo narrowly escaped death after their residence was set alight  by unknown people on Saturday morning.

 Items such as beds, chairs, wardrobe and blankets were gutted after the arsonists poured paraffin and locked the main entrance to the residential block before setting it alight.

Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said a case of arson was being investigated and no arrests had been made.

The affected students were expected to undergo counselling at the weekend. 

Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba has called on community members to assist the police with the leads towards arrests of the arsonists.

 “The arsonists allegedly gained entrance to the student residential building, poured paraffin on the walls inside and locked the main exit of the block with a chain and a padlock before setting the block alight. Students who were inside the residence had to break down one of the glass doors to exit the building,” said Ramathuba.

She added: “The department is also conducting an internal investigation to establish if there were any security breaches.”

The department said the damage  caused by the fire was yet to be quantified.