A BLAZE ENGULFED THE SOUTH AFRICAN PARLIAMENT (pictured above) early on Sunday,
with flames bursting from the roof of a building and a plume of smoke that
could be seen from miles away, and after several hours firefighters had
partially contained the fire.
By mid-morning, smoke
was still billowing from one of the several buildings that make up the
parliament complex in the legislative capital, Cape Town.
"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," parliament said in a statement.
Public Works and
Infrastructure Minister Patricia De Lille told reporters there were no reports
of any injuries. The cause of the blaze was not yet known.
Jean-Pierre Smith, a
Cape Town mayoral committee member responsible for safety and security, told
reporters that firefighters had detected cracks on the wall and the roof in one
area had collapsed.
Some 60 firefighters
and 12 fire-fighting vehicles and pieces of equipment, including a sky lift
hydraulic platform, were on site trying to contain the fire, he said.
Thick smoke billowed
from the roof of the National Assembly building and from the entrance as
emergency services sprayed water inside.
The fire started in an
office complex and spread towards a gym just before 6 a.m.
Source: Reuters
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