Fire Engulfs Mmabatho Palms Hotel, North West Premier Says It's a Setback

• The Mmabatho Palms Hotel and Casino Resort burned downed after a fire broke out on Wednesday
• The cause of the fire and extent of the damage are currently unknown and subject to investigation by the police
• New North West Premier Bushy Maape says the burning down of the hotel is tragic and will definitely affect tourism

MAHIKENG - In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a huge fire engulfed the Mmabatho Palms Hotel and Casino Resort in Mahikeng, North West.

According to News24, police in the North West stated it is currently unknown what the cause of the fire was. South African Police Services spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone says the police, as well as firefighters, attended to the fire at the hotel.

Mokgwabone stated that they have not been any reported injuries due to the fire.

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There have also been unconfirmed reports that the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Zoleka Capa was also a guest when the fire broke out. An unnamed source told News24 that Capa was one of the guests who noticed the fire.

"She was one of the first guests to see the smoke and went outside screaming to wake up other guests," said the source.

North West Premier says the fire at Mmabatho Palms Hotel is a setback for tourism

Newly-elected North West premier Bushy Maape stated that based on initial observation at the hotel, the damage seems to be quite extensive. He stated that the fire was a huge blow for the tourism industry in the North West.

Maape stated that the hotel played a critical role in terms of tourism in the province.

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"This is a serious damage to our intentions to grow the economy and to employ more people," said Maape.

In an interview with eNCA, Maape stated that he did not live too far from the hotel and that smoke from the fire had managed to get into his home. Mmabatho Palms is one of South Africa's oldest casino resorts, having been developed more than 40 years ago.

Reports state that UCT fire was started intentionally, suspicious vehicle spotted

In previous news about fires, Briefly News previously reported that an investigation into the wildfire at Table Mountain National Park in April shows that it was not caused by natural causes but was started intentionally.

The City of Cape Town and SANParks released a statement that indicated the fire was actually arson, according to ENCA.

An investigator from Enviro Wildfire Services, Rob Erasmus, says that a white car was spotted two minutes before the fire was reported. It is believed that the fire was started by the people who were in the car. Since the investigation is ongoing, the public will not be receiving more information at this stage.

The manager of fire response on Table Mountain, Philp Prins, said that preventing fires at Table Mountain is quite difficult because access to the park is not restricted. Table Mountain National Park is an open-access area.

Source: Briefly News