500-year-old tree catches fire in Freetown

One shocked witness filmed the burning Cotton Tree on their mobile phones Thursday evening and uploaded to WhatsApp. A famous landmark in the city center, the tree is Freetown's historic symbol.

Nobody is sure how old the tree is, but it is known to have existed in 1787 when the first European settlers arrived. According to some sources, the Cotton Tree is 500 years old. 

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