A fire broke out in the South African Parliament on Sunday, with flames coming from the roof of a building and a column of smoke visible miles away, but authorities said after several hours firefighters brought the situation under control.
Hours after the fire broke out in the legislative capital of Cape Town, thick smoke was still coming out of one of the many buildings in the Parliament complex.
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille told reporters the fire had been brought under control. He said that at the moment there are fires in the hall of the National Assembly, but it has been limited to other parts of the building.
De Lille, who has been mayor of Cape Town, said there were no reports of injuries from the blaze.
It is unknown at this time what caused the fire.
According to initial reports, the fire started in an office space and spread to a gym, said Jean-Pierre Smith, a member of the Cape Town City Council, responsible for security.
Dense smoke was coming from the roof of the building and from the entrance as firefighters poured water with pumps inside.
According to the French Agency, the fire broke out around 05:00 Greek time in an old Parliament building.
It is in this huge Victorian building, with its white facade and red bricks, that the last president of apartheid, FB de Klerk, announced in February 1990 the end of the racist regime.
Roads in the area were blocked immediately. The security cordon reaches the place where flowers were deposited, in the courtyard of the neighboring cathedral of St. George, as a tribute to the hero of the battle against apartheid Desmond Tutu, whose funeral took place yesterday.
His body was cremated this morning in the church during a private ceremony.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
.
