A man appears in court after fire rocks South African parliament | South Africa

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A man is due to appear in court on Tuesday after a massive fire broke out in South Africa’s National Assembly building.

An investigation has been opened into the fire, which broke out around 3 a.m. on Sunday in the oldest wing of Parliament House, completed in 1884, with wood-panelled rooms.

At dawn, smoke could be seen rising from the building against a blue sky.

“The whole room where the members are sitting…burned,” Parliament spokesman Moluto Muthabu said, adding that two fires appeared to have broken out in two separate areas of the district.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters at the scene that a man had been arrested and that sprinkler systems appeared to have failed. There were no reports of injuries.

Police said the suspect was due to appear in court. A man was arrested in Parliament [and] He is still being questioned. We have opened a criminal case. “He has been arrested and will appear in court on Tuesday,” a police spokesman said.

The building houses a collection of rare books and the original copy of the former African National Anthem Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (Voice of South Africa), which was already damaged.

“The roof of the old assembly building has collapsed and is gone,” Jean-Pierre Smith, a member of the Cape Town municipality’s safety and security committee, told reporters earlier on Sunday.

“The entire building experienced heavy smoke and water damage,” Smith said, adding that the fire was not contained.

After the old wing of the building was destroyed, flames spread to new parts of the complex that are currently in use, and the majestic red and white building was still surrounded by a thick black cloud at midday.

The fire brigade, who was the first to reach the site, battled the flames for several hours before having to retreat and call in reinforcements. About 70 firefighters were later deployed, some of whom used a crane to spray water on the fire. Inside the rooms, a rain of gray ash fell from the ceiling to the floor, which was already littered with debris.

Emergency services said they feared the fire would spread quickly through the old rooms decorated with wood, thick carpets and curtains. Television images earlier showed giant flames leaping from the ceiling.

The area around the upscale neighborhood bonfire was quickly cordoned off, extending into a square where flowers are still on display in front of nearby St. George’s Cathedral – the site of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral on Saturday.

After a simple, no-frills Mass, with a cheap coffin – according to Toto’s famously modest instructions – his ashes were interred in the cathedral on Sunday.

Cape Town has been home to the assemblies of South Africa’s parliament since 1910, when separate departments formed a federation under British control and became the precursor to the modern South African Republic.

The site includes the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces in the upper chamber, while the seat of government is in Pretoria.

South African President FW de Klerk announced plans in 1990 to dismantle the apartheid system in Parliament.

The Houses of Parliament in Cape Town consist of three sections, with more recent additions constructed in the 1920s and 1980s.

Another fire broke out in the old wings of Parliament in March, but it was quickly contained.

Cape Town suffered another major fire in April, when a fire spread from Table Mountain, which overlooks the city, destroying part of the University of Cape Town’s library that houses a unique collection of African archives.

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