The chamber of the South African National Assembly was completely destroyed on Sunday by fire. A suspect has been arrested.
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The disaster is soon over. The devastating fire that broke out on Sunday January 2 in the South African Parliament in Cape Town is now under control, firefighters told AFP on Monday January 3. “The workforce on site has been gradually reduced”, said the spokesperson for the Cape Town firefighters, Jermaine Carelse.
About twenty rescuers are still on site, the fire continuing in the oldest parts of the building which conceal treasures: some 4,000 works of art and heritage, some of which date back to the 17th century. The Library of Parliament, which has a unique collection of books, appears to have been spared.
The extent of the damage has not yet been established, but the grounds of the National Assembly have been completely destroyed. “Most of the damage is probably in this building which will not be able to be used for months.”, according to Carelse. The vast building is made up of three parts: a building housing the current National Assembly, another housing the upper house of Parliament called the National Council of Provinces, and the oldest part where parliamentarians previously met.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the fire broke out in two separate homes. And a shutdown of the water supply prevented the automatic extinguishing system from working properly. A report must be submitted within 24 hours to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited the site on Sunday.
A 49-year-old man was arrested inside Parliament. He was indicted for “burglary, arson” and he will be prosecuted for threatening state property, the elite South African police unit, the Hawks, said in a statement. He must be presented to justice on Tuesday. This is the second time in less than a year that Parliament has been damaged by fire. A quickly contained fire broke out in March.