Huge fire devastates South Africa’s parliament

A huge fire destroyed a large part of South Africa’s parliament as police said a suspect will appear in court in the week and firefighters struggled to bring the blaze completely under control, AFP reported.

Dozens of crews battled throughout the day to extinguish the fire which broke out at about 0300 GMT in the parliament complex’s oldest wing, which was completed in 1884 and has wood-panelled rooms.

As day dawned, thick plumes of black smoke could be seen enveloping the historic building’s imposing Victorian facade.

Officials said the entire part housing the National Assembly had been destroyed.

“The entire chamber where the members sit … has burned down,” parliamentary spokesman Moloto Mothapo said, adding that the blaze had still not been extinguished and fires had apparently been sparked in two separate areas of the complex.

He said the roof of the National Assembly had collapsed and that the fire was “so intense” in that part of the building that firefighters had been forced to withdraw.

No casualties were reported.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters at the scene that a man had been held and that the building’s sprinkler systems had apparently failed.

But he added that despite the damage “the work of parliament will carry on.”

Police said later a suspect had been detained.

“A man has been arrested inside the parliament, he’s still being interrogated. We have opened a criminal case. He has been arrested and will appear in court on Tuesday,” police spokeswoman Thandi Mbambo said.

The parliament building houses a collection of 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 full extent of the damage was still being assessed with more than 70 firefighters still at the scene.

The parliament’s presiding officers would meet on Monday with Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille to take stock of the devastation.