Girl, 9, dies in shack fire

A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl burnt to death but her two-year-old sibling survived after a shack in Keetmanshoop’s Ileni informal settlement caught fire on Friday night.

A neighbour told The Namibian that a man living in the same neighbourhood pulled the two-year-old from the burning shack. The children were left alone in the shack by their mother, according to the neighbour. Police Inspector Nicky Nampala identified the deceased as Kauna Hilde Paulus.Nampala said it is not known how the fire started. Nampala also reported that two Karasburg residents died while another sustained serious injuries after a car in which they were travelling left the road and overturned. The accident occurred 45 kilometres outside Grünau on the B1 road between Keetmanshoop and Karasburg. Nampala identified the deceased as Donovan Mostert (32) and Derick Jooste, who was the driver. Two more deaths, those of a five-month-old baby and a 66-year-old man, were also reported to the Police. Nampala said a man identified as Kenneth Hard was found dead in the bathroom of his flat at Rosh Pinah. It is believed that he died of a heart attack. The baby, Marchileifi Bloom, died in her sleep at her mother’s house at Aroab. Police are still investigating the cause of the baby’s death. luqman@namibian.com.na