Nine people were injured in the blaze at Newcastle in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, a police spokesman told AFP.[break]
"Police were called to the scene at 6:00am (0400GMT) and the house was still alight," spokesman Jay Naicker said.
"Police helped the fire department to put out the fire but it was too late, the house burnt down. Nine people have been taken to the hospital with burn wounds."
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, he added.
Authorities could not say how many people were living at the Hope in Christ Home orphanage as most documents burned in the blaze.
A spokesman for the provincial social development department Mandla Ngema said survivors would receive counselling from social workers.
SAPA news agency said the person in charge of the home and her four offspring were burnt to death and eight other children´s bodies were found. Two other adult bodies were also found.
It was believed the dead children were aged between two and 15.
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