Buildings destroyed in Mandela’s birthplace

Johannesburg: A fire ignited by a lightning strike has destroyed a tourism building in a South African village where anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was born, his family announced on Sunday.

The Mvezo Welcome Centre was still under construction and due to serve as the initial point of contact for tourists, with an information desk, shops and an eatery. The centre was on Saturday "struck by lightning... and its thatched roof caught fire resulting in the complete destruction of the centre," said a statement released by Mandela’s oldest grandson Mandla Mandela.