'I stared death in the face': How a courageous Durban chef saved a life in Delphi Taverna Blaze
A Durban chef, Ayakha Godlwana, successfully rescued a 74-year-old restaurant owner from a fire at the Delphi Greek Taverna. Despite having no formal firefighting training, Godlwana entered the burning building to save the trapped woman.
Why it matters
This story serves as a human-interest piece highlighting individual bravery and community response during a local disaster.
Ask AI 5 min Ayakha Godlwana and Doddy Teranes outside the Delphi Greek Taverna in Durban. Godlwana rescued Teranes from the blaze which destroyed the landmark.
With no firefighting experience or knowledge beyond a few YouTube videos, a Durban chef faced death several times in rescuing one of the owners of a landmark Durban restaurant when it burned down on Thursday.
The fire started at the back of the Delphi Greek Taverna and spread to the entire building. The restaurant owners - Doddy, Maria and Manuel Teranes - live upstairs and had closed the shop during the lunch break.
Doddy, 74, said she was checking up on her parrot, Charlie Boy, when smoke began filling the room. She panicked and began shouting for help. Her brother Manuel, who was downstairs, had grabbed a hose pipe to douse the flames he had seen growing.
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