Man jumps three storeys from blaze

Jeff Wicks, The Witness

Durban - A man is lucky to be alive after leaping from the third floor of a burning flat complex on Victoria Street in central Durban on Monday.

Siphiwe Ntsele, 22, jumped from a window as flames consumed the rooms, completely gutting the top floor.

He was treated and stabilised at the scene by ER24 paramedics before he was rushed to Addington Hospital, having sustained minor chest injuries when he crashed through a shop front awning.

The fire, which started shortly after 10:00, quickly spread through the rooms and caused several portable gas stoves to explode.

Firefighters in teams attacked the blaze from a central stairway and quickly brought the fire under control.

Victoria Street was closed by police while the scene was cleared. No other injuries were reported in the incident.