South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa visits the houses of parliament in Cape Town, where firefighters are battling to extinguish a devastating fire.
A fire that ravaged part of South Africa’s parliament, engulfing its chamber and threatening national treasures, has been brought under control, firefighters said on Monday, as police confirmed that a 49-year-old man had been charged with starting the blaze.
Flames broke out at around 5am (0300 GMT) on Sunday in the oldest wing of the Cape Town complex, triggering an inferno that crews battled throughout the day.
“The fire was brought under control during the night,” spokesman Jermaine Carelse said, adding that around 20 firefighters were still on the site.
It then spread to the neighbouring new assembly, where legislators currently meet.
“The entire chamber where the members sit… has burned down.”┬а
President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters at the scene on Sunday that a man had been held and that the building’s sprinkler systems had apparently failed.
The parliament’s presiding officers were to meet with Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille to take stock of the devastation.
As for the roof of the building’s historic section, “it’s gone,” he said.
The collection includes rare books and the original copy of the former Afrikaans national anthem “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika” (“The Voice of South Africa”), which was already damaged.
“The temperature in there is still around 100 degrees (Celsius, more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit), making it difficult to fully determine the true extent of damages,” said Smith.
Around 70 firefighters were deployed on Sunday, some using a crane to spray water on the blaze.┬а
The area was quickly secured, with a cordon stretching to a square where flowers were still displayed in front of the nearby St. George’s Cathedral, where anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral took place on Saturday.
The site includes the National Assembly and the upper house National Council of Provinces, while the government is based in Pretoria.
The complex consists of three sections, with the newer additions constructed in the 1920s and 1980s.
Cape Town suffered another major fire in April, when a blaze on the famed Table Mountain which overlooks the city spread, ravaging part of the University of┬аCape Town’s library holding a unique collection of African archives.
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Originally published as S. Africa parliament blaze under control, suspect charged
