An elderly woman has died and over 100 people have been left homeless after a fire broke out in the Denver informal settlement near Jeppe, the City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services said on Sunday.

The body of a woman in her early 80s was found after fire-fighting efforts were completed, said the service’s spokesperson Nana Radebe in a statement.

About 100 shacks were burnt out in the fire on Saturday night.

 

Radebe said that the fire was alleged to have started when a couple was fighting and – during the altercation – a candle tipped over.

By Sunday at 12:00, the disaster management officials had registered 112 affected people for whom assistance was being provided.