by Nqobile Dludla
CAPE TOWN, Jan. 2 (Reuters) – A fire broke out on Sunday at the South African Parliament in Cape Town, above which a plume of smoke was visible for several miles, but authorities said the blaze had been brought under control by firefighters.
Several hours after the start of the incident, a thick smoke still came out of one of the buildings which house the services of the Parliament.
Patricia De Lille, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, said the fire was contained, saying it continued in the National Assembly but was contained elsewhere. She added that no victim was mourned for the moment.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
According to the first information available, the fire broke out in offices and spread to a sports hall, said Jean-Pierre Smith, an official of the Cape Town municipality in charge of security.
(Nqobile Dludla Johannesburg report, with Wendell Roelf and Shafiek Tassiem in Cape Town and Jahnavi Nidumolu Bangalore, French version Marc Angrand)