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Firefighters had been battling a blaze at South Africa’s parliamentary precinct in Cape City that broke out early Sunday and brought on in depth harm to the legislative buildings.
Flames and thick smoke poured from the roof of one of many buildings within the advanced. A number of firetrucks had been on the scene and the encompassing streets had been sealed off to site visitors.
There have been no reviews of accidents and the reason for the fireplace and extent of the harm was nonetheless being assessed. Buildings had been unoccupied as a result of parliament has been in recess since Dec. 10.
Cape City’s fireplace and rescue service obtained a name {that a} constructing was alight and dispatched 9 autos and dozens of firefighters to the scene. “Preliminary reviews point out it began within the workplace house and is spreading towards the gymnasium,” J.P. Smith, a member of Cape City’s mayoral committee, mentioned in a press release.
Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille later advised reporters that the fireplace gutted the Outdated Meeting Chamber, one of many oldest buildings in parliament, and had unfold to the Nationwide Meeting, the primary debating chamber, the place it was nonetheless burning. The flames might take one other two to 3 hours to extinguish, she mentioned.
Parliament’s annual opening ceremony will go forward subsequent month as deliberate, though another venue might should be discovered, Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula mentioned.
Some parliamentary proceedings have been performed on-line for the reason that onset of coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
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