Curtains, sheets hanging out of windows ‘only escape route’- Usindiso investigator
Crime scene investigator, warrant officer Goodman Mngadi is the seventh witness to take the stand as proceedings in the Usindiso Inquiry continue.
Mngadi documented the aftermath of the deadly fire that engulfed the hijacked Usindiso building in Marshalltown, Johannesburg where more than 70 people perished in August.
The commission, which was appointed by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and is led by Justice Sisi Khampepe, is hearing oral evidence in Part A of the inquiry.
In the first of the two-part hearings, the commission seeks to determine what led to the fire and who, if anyone, should be held accountable.
Evidence leader Advocate Ishmael Semenya led Mngadi through the photo evidence, but not before warning that some of the images from the 800-page album were too graphic to flight.
“Some of the images are too grim for public viewing. I would propose that when we go through various images, we don’t include the most graphic of them.”
Mngadi explained the purpose of each photograph, including the one depicting dozens of bodies covered with blankets and silver foil lined up on the tarmac on Delvers Street.
“Photo one to eight depict the bodies while they are still covered with blankets and silver foils.
“[In photo image 51] before I uncover the blanket to take the photo of the deceased, I have to take the photograph as I found at the scene. It reveals a human body, and some parts of the body exposed.”
Semenya led the investigator through other images confirming that the building was cordoned off by authorities.
Mngadi corroborated evidence by acting Joburg EMS chief Rapulana Monageng and Fairview platoon commander Lucas Thipe, that highly flammable material was used to partition rooms while escape routes were barricaded and turned into living spaces.
READ: First responder tells of ‘heaps of bodies’ inside Usindiso building
When the fire broke out in the early hours of 31 August, trapped residents jumped from the top floors onto the street below.
Curtains and sheets hanging from the windows bore evidence of the state of panic, with Mnguni describing the method of escape as the “only route” out of the burning building.
“Because of the height of the building the occupants seem to have thrown the mattress on the ground so that they can jump on the mattress because they would get injured when they land on the floor,” he said.
Mngadi’s photo evidence also showed exposed illegal connections, some connected directly to transformers situated in the basement.
Proceedings continued with the investigator’s evidence after a lunch adjournment.
WATCH: Day 2 of the Usindiso Building Inquiry
