The impressive images of the fire that completely destroyed the National Assembly of South Africa

The enclosure of the National Assembly where the South African deputies sit in Cape Town was completely destroyed in a violent fire which has been raging since this Sunday, January 2 in the morning, said the spokesperson for Parliament according to information from Franceinfo.

Fire trucks arrived as reinforcements, all sirens blaring, a few hours after the start of the fire visible from the highway. From a crane, firefighters with a water hose tried to calm the flames.

The security cordon extends to the flowers still spread out on the forecourt of the neighboring Saint-Georges Cathedral, in homage to the hero of the anti-apartheid struggle Desmond Tutu, whose the funeral took place here the day before. His ashes were buried in the church the same morning, during a private ceremony, reports our colleagues.

No human victim is to be deplored

“I believe someone is under arrest right now and being questioned“, declared President Cyril Ramaphosa without further clarification. It seems that the sprinkler system did not work as it should have done but the intervention (of the firefighters) saved a very important national asset”, continued The head of state. No human victim is to be deplored. The origins of the incident are unknown.

This fire, which broke out a little before 6 a.m., is the second affecting Parliament in less than a year: in March, the first was triggered by a fault in the electrical installation.

Cape Town is the seat of the Parliament made up of the National Assembly and an upper house called the National Council of Provinces, while the government is based in Pretoria.