Neighbours pull family from Phoenix blaze that claims three lives

A devastating fire at a Phoenix residential complex claimed the lives of three family members - two-year-old Nurah Shabally, her uncle Mohamed Abdaal Hoosen, and her grandmother, Nasreen Desai - last Tuesday morning. Neighbors, alert to the fire, performed heroic rescue attempts, risking their own lives. Camy Paul, a 41-year-old resident, heard faint cries for help around midnight and alerted her family.

Her 61-year-old father, Vivian Paul, witnessed neighbors attempting to pry open the lounge window but found it unsuccessful. Nishal Sudhoo, a 42-year-old neighbor, eventually broke the window, but thick smoke made it impossible to see inside. They used a rope tied to the gate to pry it open, but the gate remained unmoved. Sudhoo and Copichunder, managing to cover their faces, entered the burning flat and managed to pull out four family members, including Nurah.

Vivian Paul recounted how Copichunder emerged with Nurah, and Camy immediately began administering CPR, which proved futile as Nurah succumbed to smoke inhalation. Camy later confirmed that she felt the cold body of the little girl. The community's bravery in breaking through the security gates and rescuing the trapped family members was praised by Dallas Danielsen, the Fire Division commander of the eThekwini Municipality.

Despite firefighters' efforts, the fire was contained to the lounge, with no foul play suspected. The incident remains under investigation, with the police suspecting an electric fire as the cause.