Fifteen people including at least eight children were burnt to death at an orphanage outside Newcastle on Tuesday, the KwaZulu-Natal department of social development said.

Another nine children were hospitalised.

"The number of people burnt to death has risen to 15," said Mandla Ngema, spokesperson for social development MEC Meshack Radebe.

"The person in charge of the home and her four children were burnt to death and eight other children's bodies were found."

Ngema said a search and rescue team found two more bodies later in the morning.

It is not yet clear how many of those dead were children.

Superintendent Jay Naicker said the police were called to the Hope in Christ Home at eNgogo around 6am on Tuesday.

"The MEC is going today [Tuesday] to the scene of the accident to assess the situation," said Ngema.

It was believed the children burnt were aged between two and 15.

Two vehicles outside the house were also burnt.

"We have arranged social workers to counsel those that survived in this accident," Ngema said.

Naicker said fire investigators from Pretoria were on their way to investigate the cause of the fire.

Ngema said Hope in Christ Home was an orphanage administered by the department of social development.