Four men have died in a makeshift gym that caught fire in Delft South in the early hours of Friday.

The City’s Fire and Rescue Services said they were called to the scene of a fire on Main and Sandelhout Roads just after 03:00, where three structures were alight.

This included a fruit and vegetable stand, the gym and a gas cylinder outlet.

“Crews from Belhar, Landsdowne, Bellville and Mitchell’s Plain were on scene, including the Incident Management Team (IMT) Type 5,” said Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse.

The bodies of the four men were found in the gym after the fire had been extinguished just before 07:00.

“Sadly, the bodies of four adult males were found with fatal burn wounds,” said Carelse.

Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, noted that the cause of the fire was not known, but was being investigated by police.

He further noted that about 24 gas cylinders were removed, during firefighting efforts.

A spokesperson for the Western Cape SAPS, Captain F.C. Van Wyk, has confirmed that an investigation is underway. He noted that police responded to the scene at 05:30, at which time fire services had already responded.

Van Wyk noted that the fire took place at a gas shop on Delft Main Road.

He further noted that the bodies could not be identified on the scene.

“When the fire was extinguished four unidentified human bodies were found. Unknown if it is male or female, bodies burnt beyond recognition,” said Van Wyk.

He advised that an inquest had been registered.

*This article has been updated to include comment by the Western Cape SAPS.