South Africa: Catastrophic fire under control in parliament, indictment of suspect arrested

South African police say they have arrested a suspect arrested in connection with a fire that broke out Sunday in the National Assembly building in Cape Town, with firefighters still fighting to keep it afloat.

The fire broke out early yesterday morning, around 05:00 local time (and Greek time), in the parliament complex, parts of which date back to 1884.

The fire caused the collapse, yesterday, of the roof of a part of the complex that houses the upper house or National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and burned an entire floor. However, there is no information on the cause of her injuries.

The 49-year-old suspect arrested yesterday in connection with the fire in the parliament complex will appear in court tomorrow, Tuesday. He is being prosecuted for “burglary and arson”, said the selected team of South African police Hawks.

“It is believed that he managed to enter (the building) through the window in one of the offices,” Hawks spokesman Nomtantazo Babo told eNCA television, adding that investigations were ongoing into how the suspect managed to escape security at parliament.

For more than 24 hours, firefighters tried to contain the blaze. About twenty more of them were still there this morning, as there was still a fire in the older parts of the building, where there are treasures: about 4,000 works of art and cultural heritage, some of which date back to the 17th century.

“The temperature inside the building is still close to 100 degrees, which makes it difficult to determine the true size of the damage,” said Jean-Pierre Smith, a municipal rescue worker.

In this historic part of the building, in the old halls covered with precious wood and adorned with rich carpets and curtains, the roof was completely destroyed by fire. “Nothing was left,” Smith said, adding that part of the damage was also due to tons of water thrown to extinguish the flames.

Firefighters are still trying to put out “fires on the fourth floor of the National Assembly, which are still burning,” he said.

“Many books and library shelves are smoldering,” he added, adding that the interior of the National Assembly has been badly damaged by fire, water, high temperatures and smoke.

The National Assembly is located in the so-called New Wing of parliament, which also suffered the worst damage from the fire. The fire was brought under control more quickly yesterday in the Old Wing of the parliament, according to the parliamentary authorities.