By Hassan Isilow

PRETORIA, South Africa 

Five people died Sunday after a fire raged through a shanty town on the outskirts of the South African capital Pretoria, an official said.

More than 230 shacks were destroyed after the blaze started at around midnight local time (2200GMT), Pretoria emergency services spokesman Johan Peiterse told Anadolu Agency.

“1,200 people have been rendered homeless and we are currently trying to build temporary shelters to accommodate them,” he said.

The cause of the fire at the Plastic View settlement to the east of Pretoria was still being investigated, he added, although local residents said the fire was caused by a heater.

The majority of South Africa’s poor black communities still live in shacks constructed from zinc and iron sheeting more than two decades after the end of apartheid. Fires are commonplace due to combustible construction materials in the densely packed settlements.