The 32-storey St George's Hotel in Cape Town was being evacuated on Tuesday morning after a fire in the basement, said an emergency worker.
Guests and staff made their way to the top of the hotel, formerly known as the Heerengracht hotel, in stairwells billowing with smoke, said regional fire control station officer Clive Smidt.
It is understood that firefighters were leading them back down again to safety.
A number of them were overcome and were being treated on the scene for smoke inhalation, he said.
The fire started at 5.52am in an electrical transformer in the basement of the building. It was quickly extinguished, but resulted in a lot of smoke.
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Medics, ambulances, and the South African Police Service were on the scene, as were traffic officers and city police who closed the busy Riebeeck Road to traffic.
Smidt said that although the blaze was not a "major fire", it could prove quite expensive because of the damage to the transformer and damage to the interior of the hotel caused by the intensity of the smoke. - Sapa
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