South Africa's Parliament Building Burns, Black Smoke Soars High In The Cape Town Sky

JAKARTA - A huge fire broke out at the Parliament Building in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Video footage circulating on social media showed plumes of black smoke filling the sky, with huge flames rising from the roof of the building.

Quoted from the BBC, Sunday, January 2, dozens of firefighters were already on the scene trying to put out the fire. As of this writing, it is not clear what caused the fire.

The incident occurred hours after Archbishop Desmond Tutu's state funeral at St George's Cathedral, which happens to be adjacent to Parliament.

The roof area caught fire and the National Assembly building also caught fire, city authorities said.

"The fire is out of control and cracks in the walls of the building have been reported," a spokesman for the city's emergency services told AFP news agency.

The fire is currently on the third floor, with initial reports suggesting that it started in the building's office space and spread to the on-site gym, city officials said.

The Parliament Buildings in Cape Town consist of three sections, with the oldest dating from 1884. The newer section was built in the 1920s and 1980s housing the National Assembly.

Smoke bellowing out of downtown Cape Town. Flames look awfully close to St. George's Cathedral #capetownfire pic.twitter.com/pU7HKVFXCL

— Calvin D. Ullrich (@CalvinUllrich) January 2, 2022

Breaking: A large fire is burning at a Parliament building in Cape Town, South Africa. pic.twitter.com/fhIn7gUWD3

— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) January 2, 2022