Wildfires Hit S. African Winelands, Suburbs

A deadly blaze aboard a train sparked a wildfire in Cape Town Thursday, as strong winds and high temperatures also sent flames ripping through vineyards in South Africa's prime winelands.

A body was found in one of two burnt-out carriages on the commuter train after it made an emergency stop near Fish Hoek village on Cape Town's southern peninsula, police said.

A spokesman told AFP the cause of the blaze was not yet known. But the area was cordoned off by police as a crime scene -- suggesting arson was suspected.

The fire began on the train and spread to the mountainside, Cape Town's fire chief Ian Schnetler told AFP.

Water-bombing helicopters and fire crews were battling to prevent the blaze reaching nearby houses.

Helicopters were also in action in the Cape's scenic winelands, where fires have raged in the Simonsberg area since Tuesday.

Several farms have lost part of their grape crops, just as the harvesting season gets under way.

"We've lost 70 percent of our forest and 20 percent of our sauvignon blanc vineyards," Delheim estate manager Charlotte Terblanche told AFP.

"The fire is still coming," she said, with firefighters and farm workers joined by volunteers in fighting the blaze.

At the nearby Uitkyk estate, winemaker Estelle Lourens said fire had swept through four vineyards.

"It was raging last night, there was no way to keep it under control," she said.

Winelands fire chief Danie Wells told AFP two helicopters were supporting fire crews on the ground as they battled the blaze, which has burnt a total of about 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres).

The area around Cape Town has experienced a heatwave and howling south-easterly winds for more than a week, while 2015 was declared the driest in South Africa for 112 years.