Massive Fire In South Africa's Cape Town Appears To Be Contained - Official

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published April 20, 2021 | 06:31 PM

The fire raging in South Africa's Cape Town appears to be contained, Ramdeen Ali Wali, an official with Higher Health, an agency working on behalf of the Department of Higher Education and Training, told the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Tuesday

JOHANNESBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2021) The fire raging in South Africa's Cape Town appears to be contained, Ramdeen Ali Wali, an official with Higher Health, an agency working on behalf of the Department of Higher education and Training, told the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Tuesday.

The conflagration, which started on mountain slopes on Sunday morning, has since spread all the way to the Rhodes Memorial and the University of Cape Town.

According to the official, the reports coming from the city indicate that the blaze has been contained, although there were flare-ups overnight.

"The assessment of the damages and the need to clean residences and academic buildings means that the academic programme at the University of Cape Town will be suspended until Friday, 23 April. On Wednesday the Department of Student Affairs will start managing the movement of students back to their residences from their emergency accommodation," University Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng said in a statement.

Students will be able to resume studies on April 26, according to the statement.

Clinical psychologists are being dispatched to provide psychological assistance to students on campus. The university has also assembled a group of volunteers and established a free mental health hotline.

An investigation team will be dispatched to help students with symptoms of the coronavirus disease.

The city's firefighters confirmed that the natural disaster had been more or less put under control.

"Three days since the start of the devastating Rhodes Memorial blaze, the fire has been largely contained with firefighting efforts now focused on Deer Park and the Disa Park towers in Vredehoek," Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said, as quoted by local news outlet Times Live.

The government-funded job creation program Working on Fire has reported that� five firefighter had been injured in the line of duty.

On Monday, a Sputnik correspondent reported that one person had been arrested in connection with the fire.