Hundreds of homes have been destroyed by a fire in a poor neighbourhood of the South African port city of Durban.

One person is known to have died in the blaze that tore through the Kennedy Road informal settlement early on Sunday morning, but there are fears that more bodies could be found.

Video footage shows the twisted remains of corrugated iron sheets used to build the shacks amid the smouldering debris.

People can be seen trying to salvage their belongings.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. However, some eyewitnesses say it started when two people, who had been drinking, got into an argument.

A South African Red Cross spokesman described it as a disaster and estimated that about 1,000 shacks may have been destroyed, leaving some 3,000 people homeless.

Siyabonga Hlatshwayo told the eNCA news site that the Red Cross had been distributing hot meals, mattresses and blankets to those affected and he appealed to the public for more donations.