CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Six firefighters have died battling a forest fire in South Africa’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province and two more are in critical condition, emergency services said Monday.
Authorities suspect Sunday’s fire was started by poachers seeking to capture animals to kill.
Three firefighters died at the scene of the fire near the city of Boston, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) inland from the east coast city of Durban, emergency services spokesman Roland Robertson said. He said another three firefighters were treated and put on ventilators, but all died shortly after being admitted to hospital.
One firefighter remains on life support in hospital and another is also in critical condition, he said.
Robertson said some poachers may also have been injured in the fires on private farms, as wind and dry ground caused them to burn out of control. There have been no reported arrests of suspected poachers.
Bushfires have been raging in other parts of KwaZulu-Natal over the past week due to heat and wind, killing at least seven people in different parts of the province, the local government said.
The fires are coming to the other side of South Africa has been hit by several stormsresulting in stormy winds and flooding.
A series of cold fronts moving in from the Atlantic Ocean have caused widespread damage in Cape Town and surrounding areas on the country’s southwestern tip over the past 10 days, affecting around 15,000 people and damaging or destroying thousands of homes and other structures.
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