Yesterday (2nd) morning local time, a fire broke out in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, and the roof of some buildings collapsed.
Jean-Pierre Smith, a member of the Cape Town Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Committee, told reporters, "The roof of the old parliament building completely collapsed and disappeared, and the entire building suffered burn damage."
President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the scene of the fire that "the sprinkler does not appear to be working properly."
President Ramaphosa said he is currently undertaking an arrest and investigation into anyone involved in the fire, but did not disclose details.
The local fire department said, "There have been no reported casualties so far," and "the fire spread around the roof of the parliament building, and cracks were also formed on the walls of the building."
The three-district Parliament of South Africa was first built in 1884.
Afterwards, new buildings were built in the 1920s and 1980s respectively.
It is said that the fire started on the third floor of the old building and spread to a nearby gymnasium.
Fire officials put out the big blaze, but Reuters said the fire was being extinguished by a fuse.
Currently, it is known that lawmakers mainly use the new parliament building.
(Photo = Reuters, Yonhap News)