WATCH | Firefighters attempt to save UCT library

A helicopter water bombs the fire near the Jagger Library at the University of Cape Town.
Image: RUVAN BOSHOFF

Firefighters battled into the night to try salvage the University of Cape Town's Jagger Library after a runaway fire quickly spread to the campus on the slopes of Devil's Peak on Sunday.

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According to the UCT website, the Special Collections library consists of printed and audiovisual materials on African studies and a wide array of other specialised subjects, as well as more than 1,300 sub-collections of unique manuscripts and personal papers. The collection of books and pamphlets exceeds 85,000 items on African studies alone. It is understood that some material has been captured digitally.