Three people die in Durban pipeline fire, more than 270 displaced

• Three people were killed in a pipeline fire in Durban which displaced 270 people.
• It is unclear whether the incident is linked to an attempt to steal fuel from the pipeline, according to the Cogta MEC.
• Fire and rescue teams and Transnet officials brought the fire under control. 

Three people have been killed in a pipeline fire that broke out in Clairwood, Durban on Sunday which displaced 270 people.

"As a result of the fire, 270 people from 130 households...at the nearby informal settlement have been temporarily displaced and the disaster management teams are working together with social partners to provide interim relief to the affected," KwaZulu-Natal Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka said on Monday.

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Disaster management teams were dispatched to the area at around 04:20 on Sunday, following reports of a fire in Horseshoe Road.

"Quick action by the fire and rescue teams, working together with Transnet, brought the fire under control," Hlomuka said.

"Further assessments by the rescue personnel found three bodies of people [who] are believed to have died as a result of the fire," he added.

Hlomuka said preliminary assessments indicated that the fire could have been the result of an attempt to "perforate the pipeline and siphon product into an awaiting tanker".

Hlomuka added:

Hlomuka called on residents to refrain from "interfering with hazardous installations as this poses a risk to their own safety".

Transnet pipelines chief executive Michelle Phillips, said the Transnet pipelines national operations centre "immediately shut down the pipeline and activated the emergency response plan".

"The preliminary assessment indicates a botched fuel theft incident on the pipeline, and investigations are ongoing. Remediation work and business continuity management processes have been activated. The current focus is to extinguish the fire and minimise the impact on the community and environment."

Phillips said there had been an "unprecedented spate of fuel theft incidents on the pipelines and the associated infrastructure during the last two years".

Phillips added:

She said that due to the nature of the petroleum products transported via the pipeline, some activities resulted in serious or fatal injuries.

"Transnet has implemented various security measures to address the theft attempts, some of which have yielded positive results. To date, 159 arrests have been made, 254 criminal cases opened, [and] 57 fuel tankers and 54 vehicles impounded."

She appealed to communities to report suspicious activities on the toll free number is 0800 203 843.

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