Bible unblemished by blaze
11 January 2007

Bloemfontein - Michelle van Deventer's Bible emerged unscathed from the ruins of her flat that went up in flames on Monday. Michelle's fifth-floor flat in La Gratitude in Union Avenue went up in flames this week.  She slipped while climbing down to the fourth floor and fell screaming: "Lord, help me!"

Her first words in hospital to Ernst Grünow of holding company Terra Rand, which owns the block, were: "Was there nothing left after the fire?"
Michelle is still in the high-care unit of Bloemfontein Medi-Clinic.  Grünow said: "I told her everything had been lost, and she asked if her Bible had also burnt.

"I said yes. "When I returned to her flat later, everything was covered in soot. Under a pile of debris, I spotted something.  "When I went closer, I couldn't believe my eyes. Under the rubble was her Bible, pure white and without a blemish.

Amanda Appelgryn, spokesperson for the medi-clinic, said 25-year-old Michelle's condition had improved and she was fully conscious.  "She is attached to a respirator."

Michelle has multiple fractures from her fall from the fifth floor.

Elsje Neethling, Die Volksblad, www.news24.com