The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has released a statement clarifying the circumstances surrounding a veld fire that spread to a military base in the Northern Cape, resulting in fatalities and injuries on Friday.
What caused the deadly SANDF Northern Cape training base fire?
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The Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) initially reported the incident, stating that the fire had spread from Kathu in Gamagara local municipality to the SA Army combat training centre at Lohatla.
In their communication, Cogta mentioned that they had escalated the matter to the head of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) for intervention.
“In most cases the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) activate their own choppers to extinguish the fire. Remember that Fire Protection Association work closely with them. We will monitor the situation and activate NDMC at their request if they require additional support,” Cogta stated at the time.
A day after the incident, SANDF released a detailed statement providing insight into the dreadful event.
According to their account, on Friday afternoon, a massive fire, fuelled by winds travelling at a speed of 70 kilometres per hour from a nearby mine, engulfed the western part of the Combat Training Centre (CTC) – a SANDF training facility in Lohatla, Northern Cape.
This incident occurred during the preparations for the forthcoming SA Army Vukuhlome Exercise, causing significant damage to the assembled equipment at the training centre.
Although the exact number of casualties and injured individuals is yet to be determined, the situation has drawn the attention of high-ranking officials.
The Chief of the South African Army was on-site to oversee the situation and ensure a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire, particularly focusing on the fire’s origin from the nearby mine.
“More information will be determined as the investigation continues into the cause of fire from the nearby mine,” SANDF noted.
This video shows the aftermath of the deadly inferno.