South African police said on Monday they had charged a man with arson over a fire that caused extensive damage to the national Parliament building in Cape Town, as firefighters struggled to extinguish the last remains of the blaze.

The fire broke out early on Sunday at the parliamentary complex, some of which dates back to 1884 and includes the National Assembly, or lower House of Parliament.

It caused the collapse of the roof of a part of the complex housing the upper chamber, or National Council of Provinces (NCOP), on Sunday and gutted an entire floor, though there were