Mop-up operations continue at the Shelley Point Hotel and Spa in St Helena Bay, which was razed in a fire on Tuesday.
The hotel was gutted in a fire that is suspected to have started in one of the kitchen buildings, said Saldanha Bay Municipality mayor Andre Truter.
On Tuesday, firefighters fought the blaze for about eight hours at the luxury hotel, which started just after 7am.
Truter thanked the Working on Fire firefighting teams on Tuesday evening after the fire was contained after about 115 loads of 1 000 litres and 123 loads of 900 litres, respectively, were dumped to douse the fire from aerial support services.
“You guys were absolute stars. Also thanks to Aircraft Support Vehicles ASV 14, Fannie Cuamba and ASV 04 Sydwell Mjomle for doing an amazing task backing up the aircraft. Truth be told, if it wasn’t for all your bravery and dedication to the task at hand, then we would have not been able to contain the fire on the premises. We are truly thankful to have such dedication and skill in the Western Cape…
“I left the site at 6pm (Tuesday) evening, Saldanha Bay Municipality fire chief and crew were still on site doing mopping-up work. They (monitored) the fire during the night. It was a sad day losing such an amazing landmark hotel, but on the other hand, I witnessed such bravery and dedication (yesterday), that it moved me. It could have been so much worse. No injuries, no fatalities. I am thankful for the dedication of everyone involved, and there are too many to mention. Thank you to everyone who assisted in all capacities,” said Truter.
The hotel posted to its social media pages that guests who had bookings should get in touch via email for arrangements to be made.
@melish_c_weskustannie #shelleypointhotelfire #shelleypointhotel #sthelenabay #weskustannie #melishc #weskus #shelleypoint #afrikaans #afrikaanstiktoks #suidafrika #westerncape #weskaap #shelleypointhotelandspa ♬ Main Title (The Notebook) - Aaron Zigman
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Cape Times