A fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon at the Pilanesberg International Airport near Sun City in North West.
According to Oshebeng Koonyaditse, spokesperson for the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management in the North West, security guards saw smoke at the airport around 12:00, but could not determine what was burning.
“The guards investigated and saw that the smoke was coming from the top of the air traffic control tower,” says Koonyaditse.
“Some of the staff at the airport went to the tower to try to put out the fire. However, the flames engulfed everything and within seconds the thatched roof of the airport collapsed. The staff tried in vain to extinguish the flames, but the structure was completely destroyed.”
The Sun City and Rustenburg fire brigades arrived on the scene shortly afterwards to provide assistance. The fire is extinguished.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and no injuries have been reported.
Sello Lehari, the MEC for the department, together with the acting head of department, Mpho Maleme, rushed to the terminal and ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the fire.
“We will do everything in our power to get behind the hatchet,” said Lehari.
