It has been a tragic Friday 13 for dozens of residents of a municipality-owned apartment block along Durban's Victoria Embankmen.
Several floors of the Westpoint Lodge were gutted by a fire that started earlier this afternoon.
Two young children, believed to have been locked in their second floor apartment without supervision, died in the blaze.
Residents who spoke to Newswatch on condition of anonymity claim their building hasn't had water or electricity for some time.
Some of them still don't know the extent of damage to their belongings - but have told us the tragedy could have been avoided if basic services were readily available.
"I don't even know what has happened in my room. I ran out for my life, and I don't know what's happening inside because they are refusing to let us inside now," added an upset resident.
"We were scared, the smoke was all over. We couldn't go downstairs so we went upwards, to the other floors. We had to stay outside on balconies to avoid the smoke," said a man who lives in the building.
Meanwhile, workers at a neighbouring petrol station say they feared for the people inside the building.
"We saw lots of smoke, and it looked like some people were going to jump out, because the fire kept going up," said a petrol attendant.
"There was nothing that anyone could do. The fire department was very quick, I must admit. I take my hat off to them," added a station manager.
(Photos: Shaun Ryan)
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