FREETOWN, April 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fire broke out inside Sierra Leone’s presidential building in central Freetown but President Julius Maada Bio was not present.
President Bio is currently in Turkey attending a conference.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control after five hours Saturday tackling the flames, a senior fire service official said.
The fire claimed no victims but consumed documents and furniture in the building, the official added.
It broke out on the third and fourth floors of State House, and the president’s office on the second floor was untouched, said an earlier information ministry statement.
The cause of the fire, which started at around 4:00 pm was not yet known, it said.
Videos posted on social media showed flames at the upstairs windows of the large white building, and thick black smoke.
Police cordoned off streets around the building and security personnel and soldiers were deployed. — NNN-AGENCIES
