A major fire ripped through South Africa’s Parliament building on Sunday, Parliament’s Presiding Officers said in a statement.
The cause of the fire has not yet been established and investigations are underway by the relevant authorities.
Firefighters battled a major blaze at South Africa’s Parliament complex on Sunday that sent a dark plume of smoke and flames into the air above the center of Cape Town.
Around 60 firefighters were still battling the fire more than seven hours after it started in the early morning, Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse said. Some of them were lifted up on a crane to spray water on the blaze from above. No injuries have been reported and Parliament itself had been closed for the holidays.
Firefighters are now putting out the blaze in Parliament. The black smoke from the fire covered the surrounding environment. “The National Assembly is on fire,” said a Cape Town emergency services spokesman.
He said that the fire was not under control and the wall of the building was cracked. The cause of the fire is not open.
The fire has affected both the Old Assembly Wing and the National Assembly Wing of the buildings of Parliament, which house the chambers of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, the South African government said in a statement.
The fire has been contained in the old wing. Firefighters are currently trying to control the fire in the New Wing, where the fire has affected the National Assembly Chamber.
National Assembly Speaker, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Amos Masondo, have expressed their appreciation to the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services for their prompt reaction and the work done thus far to contain the fire and limit the damage as much as possible.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, led by Minister Patricia De Lille, the Deputy Minister of State Security Zizi Kodwa, the South African Police Services, and security personnel of Parliament are in the Parliamentary Precinct assessing the situation.
No person has been injured, officers said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “I am deeply saddened by the scenes all of us are witnessing today as flames engulf the home of our democracy in the precinct of Parliament. it was “devastating news” but the work of parliament would continue.”
In a statement, he said: “I believe somebody is being held right now and they’re being questioned.”
He added: “It does seem like the sprinkler system did not work as it was supposed to, but their (firefighters’) appearance and their coming here has saved a very important national asset of our government.”
Some 60 firefighters have been on the scene tackling the blaze.
Patricia de Lille, minister of public works, said the flames had been contained in the chamber of the National Council of Provinces – the upper house – but continued to burn in the National Assembly chamber.
“We can’t tell you exactly where the fire started,” she said, adding that it was a “very sad day for our democracy”.
South Africa’s House of Parliament has three buildings, old and new. The new building, built-in 1920 and 1980, houses the National Assembly. Last April, a fire broke out in a library at the University of Cape Town.
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