VIDEO: Fire destroys hundreds of homes, claims one life in South Africa

Authorities reported that hundreds of homes have been destroyed, one person has been killed, and another is still missing after an informal settlement in the port city of Durban, South Africa, was set ablaze.

Around 3,000 people have become homeless, and the death of one person sparked fears that additional bodies may be discovered after the early Sunday morning blaze that tore through the Kennedy Road informal settlement.

In the smouldering debris, video footage reveals the crumpled remnants of the corrugated iron sheets that were used to construct the shacks.

According to Eye Witness News, several others have been injured while emergency response and disaster management teams were still attempting to put out the fire. Locals worked to salvage what they could from the rubble.

“There was an adult male who was deceased and another child who was reported missing, but the SAPS search and rescue and metro came and did a sweep but couldn’t find anybody," said fire department spokesperson Nkulumo Dube.

People were seen attempting to save their possessions, according to the BBC.

Although the cause of the fire remains unclear, some eyewitnesses claim that it began with a fight between two intoxicated individuals.

According to a spokesman for the South African Red Cross, it was a disaster that may have destroyed 1,000 shacks, displacing 3,000 people.

Siyabonga Hlatshwayo from the eNCA news site said that the Red Cross had been supplying hot meals, mattresses, and blankets to those in need, and he made a plea for additional donations from the general public.

While there have been fires in this unofficial community before, this one was the largest, according to the locals. The Masinenge informal settlement on the South Coast saw 111 shacks burn a week prior to this fire.