The fire service of South Africa's legislative capital Cape Town on Monday afternoon said that the parliament fire, which started on early Sunday, flared up again.

It said in a text message that the void beneath the roof sheeting of the National Assembly building was on fire, and about 34 firefighters were busy battling with the flames.

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 by 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 cause of the fire is still unknown. One person has been arrested in connection with the fire.

(Cover: Smoke billows from the roof of a building at the South African Parliament precinct in Cape Town,  South Africa, January 2, 2022. /CFP)