Video footage circulating on social media shows a large fire raging at the Houses of Parliament in the South African city of Cape Town.
Dozens of firefighters attended the site Sunday to put the fire off, it is not yet clear what caused the fire.
It comes hours after Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s state funeral at St George’s Cathedral, near Parliament.
The smoke from the blaze could be seen from several miles away. Watch the video below for more.
The roof area had caught fire and the National Assembly building was on fire too, the city authorities initially said.
Minister of Public Works Patricia de Lille later said the fire in the Chamber of the Council of Provinces (the parliament’s upper house) had been contained, but the National Assembly building was still burning:
The parliament is not currently in session because of the holidays.
The Houses of Parliament in Cape Town are made up of three sections, with the oldest dating back to 1884. The newer sections built in the 1920s and 1980s house the National Assembly.
Last year, a fire ravaged part of the University of Cape Town’s library, which was home to a unique collection of African archives.
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