Durban - The Durban Christian Centre’s popular Jesus Dome was gutted by a massive fire on Tuesday night that left the church in ruins.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but there were reports of repeated power outages in the area immediately prior to the blaze.
Read: PICS: Jesus Dome completely destroyed in blaze
By 6pm, the landmark dome that had been visible from the N3 highway was no more.
Scores of motorists stopped on the N3 to view the eThekwini Fire Brigade at work.
Many drove to the church to get a glimpse of the blaze and the devastation.
Garrith Jamieson, spokesman for Rescue Care paramedics, said that no one was injured in the blaze.
He said that one eThekwini Metro Police officer was injured when a motorist drove into him as he was directing traffic that had built up in the area.
Robert Mckenzie, spokesman for KwaZulu-Natal’s Emergency Medical Service, said that by 8pm the flames had been extinguished, but that firefighters were damping down the structure where it was still smouldering.
Construction of the Jesus Dome, which has a capacity to seat 5 500 people, commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1999.
ANA