Two mothers whose four children died in a house fire in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg have been remanded in custody pending a formal bail application expected next week.
The children aged between three and seven were asleep when their blanket caught fire setting the house ablaze.
One died on the scene and the three others succumbed to injuries in hospital.
Their 14-year-old sibling managed to escape the blaze and summon for help.
It is alleged that the children’s mothers left them unattended when they went on a drinking spree.
Emotional family members burst into tears as the magistrate announced that the women would be remanded in custody until the 28 September when they will apply for bail.
A memorial service for the children will be held in Alexandra on Wednesday and they will be buried on Saturday.
The women will have to lodge a special application if they hope to be released from custody to attend the funeral.
The Gauteng Department of Social Development says it will assist the families and the surviving child during this difficult time.
In a separate incident, two children aged eight months and two years died in a shack fire in Krugersdorp on Gauteng’s West Rand on Monday while their mother was doing laundry.
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