Smoke rises as the fire flares up again on the National Assembly building in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Photo by Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua)
CAPE TOWN, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The fire service of South Africa's legislative capital Cape Town on Monday afternoon said that the parliament fire, which started on early Sunday, has flared up again.
In a text message it said the void beneath the roof sheeting of the building of the National Assembly, the lower house, is on fire and about 34 firefighters are busy battling with the fire.
The city government in the early morning said the fire service has scaled down resources from 9 p.m. last night, and the fire in the building is under control except on the fourth floor, which is still smoldering.
The fire has affected both the National Assembly Wing and the Old Assembly Wing built in 1885, which houses the upper house National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The old wing's fire had been contained on Sunday.
The Interior of the National Assembly building was "extensively destroyed," and the structural ceiling of the National Assembly Wing collapsed. The fire gutted the third floor of the old wing, including the office space and the gym, and its roof partly collapsed.
The fire led to the "complete burning down" of the chamber of the National Assembly, Amos Masondo, Chairperson of the NCOP told a media briefing ahead of the flaring up.
It is "one of the biggest losses" caused by the fire, said Masondo after attending a briefing by all critical role-players in the incident.
The lower house's chamber, situated in the National Assembly building built between 1983 and 1985, used to host plenary sittings of the National Assembly and the joint sitting of the two houses.
Masondo, however, said some important sections were saved, including NCOP Chamber and offices, the Parliament Library, the Museum including artworks and heritage objects as well as the Keiskama tapestry, an embroidery telling the history of South Africa on the ground floor of the Old Assembly Building.
He said the multi-agency and multi-pronged investigations are underway, and will be in full swing once the whole building is declared safe and handed over to the investigation team.
"We wish to assure all the people in South Africa that we will leave no stone unturned to enable appropriate actions to be taken by all relevant authorities," said Masondo.
According to him, a multidisciplinary team of professional engineers has arrived in the parliament to determine the cause of fire, the extent of damage, safety of the building, and the estimate cost as well as timelines for repairs.
South African Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia De Lille told the briefing that the team of engineers includes electrical, structural and mechanical engineers, and they focus on repairs that need to be done, the cost of the repairs and timeframe for the repairs.
A fire expert, together with a fire forensic team, on Monday started to determine where exactly the fire started and a preliminary report is expected to be presented by Friday morning, she said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. One person has been arrested in connection with the fire. Enditem
A firefighter battles the fire that flares up again on the National Assembly building in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Photo by Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua)
A firefighter battles the fire that flares up again on the National Assembly building in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Photo by Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua)
A firefighter battles the fire that flares up again on the National Assembly building in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Photo by Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua)
People watch firefighters battling the fire that flares up again on the National Assembly building in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Photo by Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua)
A fire is seen on the National Assembly building in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Photo by Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua)
