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AP Photo/Nasser Nasser

Egyptian men gather at the entrance of the Egyptian parliament building while smoke rises from the burning building in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008. A large fire erupted Tuesday in Egypt's parliament, and five people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, officials said.

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Fire ravaged a 19th century palace used by the upper house of Egypt's parliament Tuesday, with flames bursting through windows as helicopters scooped water from the Nile River to douse the blaze.

Flames soared upward from the top floor of the three-story building, and much of the interior appeared gutted. While firefighters focused on one corner of the building, the blaze burned heavier on a second corner, spreading to the second floor.

Thick black smoke billowed over downtown Cairo, and rush hour traffic gridlocked from the dozens of fire trucks that rushed to the scene.

Two helicopters ferried buckets of water from the Nile and poured them onto the blaze.

There was no official word on the cause. Evacuated employees said authorities told them they had ruled out terrorism, and that an electrical short-circuit had likely sparked the fire.

Six workers and firefighters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, said Ahmad Salah, the fire operations supervisor.

Riot police created a cordon outside the parliament complex, located on a busy downtown thoroughfare. Tourists and locals stopped to snap photographs with cell phone cameras.

Egypt requires some fire-safety measures in buildings, including fire extinguishers, but in general the rules are not strictly enforced.

The country's deadliest blaze was in February 2002, when flames swept through a crowded passenger train south of Cairo, killing 370 people.