The Johannesburg Emergency Services have confirmed that a fire broke out at Protea Gardens Mall in Soweto on Wednesday night.
Two shops were reportedly burned, and nobody was injured.
The flames were reported just after 19:00 on the evening of 24 August. The police have launched a probe into what caused the flames and cannot link it to the National Shutdown or any form of unrest.
The mall with is situated in Protea South in Soweto is the hub of that part of Soweto and police along with fire fighters managed to cordon off the area quickly as local community members rushed to see what was happening.
Two fire engines were summoned to extinguish the blaze and the fire raged on into Wednesday night, said Nana Radebe Kgiba, the Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson.
“We can confirm that two shops caught fire at the Protea Gardens Mall. At this stage, there are no injuries reported. We’ve got two fire engines on site and the cause of the fire is still under investigation,” said Radebe Kgiba.
In a separate incident, a section of Chris Hani Road in Soweto has been closed off by protesting residents.
The protesters used rubble and burning tyres to close the road between Dynamo and Nicholas Street, said Xolani Fihla, the Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD)spokesperson.
He added that the protests may be linked to an operation to disconnect illegal electricity connections, which took place in the area on Wednesday.
Source: The South African, Jacaranda FM, SABC News, News24, image from Jacaranda FM: Facebook