Video footage showed a plume of black smoke filling the sky, with huge flames coming out from the roof of the building, reports BBC.

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the site and described it as a "terrible and devastating event".

Dozens of firefighters reached the spot and fought to bring the flames under control.

The fire started just a day after Archbishop Desmond Tutu's state funeral took place at St George's Cathedral which is located near the parliament.

Jean-Pierre Smith, a member of the Cape Town mayoral committee for safety and security, told reporters as quoted by BBC that the roof above the old assembly hall was "completely gone" and further damage inside the old chamber had not yet been evaluated.