South African Firefighters Evacuate Three 17 Storey Buildings As Fires Rage

South African emergency workers have evacuated three 17-storey residential buildings overlooking Cape Town as a huge fire burns along Table Mountain.

The blaze spread quickly after breaking out on Sunday morning near a memorial to politician Cecil Rhodes. A restaurant was destroyed.

The University of Cape Town’s historic library was also badly damaged.About 250 firefighters have been battling the blaze, which has been fanned by strong winds.

Helicopters were used to water-bomb flames, but their work had been hampered by the conditions. South African National Parks said firefighters were alerted at 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Sunday.

The flames spread quickly because of the low humidity and dry bush.The fire created its own wind further increasing the rate of spread, it added, estimating that firefighters would need at least three days to control the blaze

SOURCE:BBC