Large blaze at Majuba power station 'extinguished swiftly': Eskom

Eskom will investigate how a massive fire broke out at the Majuba power plant in Mpumalanga on Wednesday.

A video of the fire shows plumes of black smoke pouring from the power station.

Eskom's controversial former acting CEO Matshela Koko was among those who shared the video on social media.

In a statement issued shortly before 8pm on Wednesday, Eskom said the blaze, which started at about 3pm, had been "extinguished swiftly".

"We will have to wait for the facility to cool down in order to start a forensic investigation to determine the cause of the fire. Once it is safe, the investigation will commence," said the ailing power utility.

Eskom said the fire broke out on the incline conveyor belt system from the rail offloading facility, adding that it impacted on coal delivery to the Majuba station.

However, because the station had 50 days' worth of coal on hand, the fire did not affect the output of the plant.