“I am not good, they found my child under the table, like she was hiding, burnt beyond recognition.”
These are the heartbreaking words of dad Davy Mahoungou, 44, whose 5-year-old daughter Sinesipho, passed away on Monday evening during a devastating fire in Parow.
Davy says his baby girl was at crechè in the building on the corner of Tallent and Voortrekker Road when the fire broke out.
“She’s been there since April or March. There was a woman who looked after the children but I heard she left the kids with her husband on Monday because she went into labour,” he says.
“I am unemployed, but do casual paving, while my wife is away studying.
“On Monday I was helping out again when I got the call.”
The father says he rushed to Parow to find a crowd of people standing outside.
“All the kids stood outside, but not Sine. We stood waiting, that’s when they came to say they found the body of a child under the table, it looked like she was hiding.”
Davy says at first he did not want to believe that it was his daughter and went for DNA testing yesterday.
He describes his Sine as a happy, fun-loving child, who had a kind, soft heart.
“I am sad because I lost a daughter and Sine’s sibling who is nine years old lost a sister. I am struggling.”
Parow Community Policing Forum Vice-chair Bronwin Daniels, says the whole community is heartbroken since learning about the passing of the child.
“The saddest part is the child being burnt beyond recognition, now the father has to wait to bury his child. He went for DNA testing but was told through the government it would take three weeks and two days.
“That is why we are trying to get him help, because this is a tragedy, a young girl, who had her whole life ahead of her, gone…”
Ward 26 councillor Fran Walker, sent her condolences to the family and said her door is always open should they need help.
“Yesterday showed how united a community can be. Whoever was called to help came out, from chaplins providing trauma counselling, to disaster risk management to help with relief.
“Thank you to the firefighters too and the policemen and women.
The City’s Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, says they received a call at approximately 4.50pm of a building alight and the fire was contained at 5.50pm.
Firefighters discovered the body of a minor about 10 minutes later.
Carelse says several flats have been affected, and numerous persons, mostly foreigners, have been displaced.
One person remains unaccounted for, he adds.
The owner of the block, which consists of flats and businesses, could not be reached.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie says an inquest docket was opened for investigation and says the circumstances and cause of the fire is being investigated.