Jan 2, 2022: According to a report by Al Jazeera, firefighters were present at the building as large flames and a huge column of smoke were seen at around 05:30am GMT after the South African parliament building caught fire.
A terrible fire broke out in the South African Parliament building in Cape Town. At around 05:30 GMT on Sunday, firefighters in the building were seen as a large column of flames and smoke.
A spokesman for the city’s emergency services told AFP that the roof had caught fire and the National Assembly building was on fire. He added that the fire could not be contained and cracks were reported in the walls of the building.
There was no indication of what caused the fire. According to local media outlet News24, 36 firefighters are at the scene and authorities have called for additional resources to contain the blaze. Images seen on social media showed a mass of flames licking through what appeared to be the roof of one of the parliament buildings.
JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security, told local media that the alarm had been raised at 5am and that the 36 firefighters on the scene had requested more resources to tackle the blaze.
The houses of parliament in Cape Town consist of three sections. The original and oldest building was completed in 1884. The newer additions, constructed in the 1920s and 1980s, house the National Assembly.
In April last year, a fire ravaged part of the University of Cape Town’s library housing a unique collection of African archives
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