A catastrophic fire engulfed the upper reaches of ParisB次元官网网址 soaring Notre Dame Cathedral as it was undergoing renovations Monday, threatening one of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western world as tourists and Parisians looked on aghast from the streets below.
The blaze collapsed the cathedralB次元官网网址檚 spire and spread to one of its landmark rectangular towers, but Paris fire chief Jean-Claude Gallet said the churchB次元官网网址檚 structure had been saved after firefighters managed to stop the fire spreading to the northern belfry. The 12th-century cathedral is home to incalculable works of art and is one of the worldB次元官网网址檚 most famous tourist attractions, immortalized by Victor HugoB次元官网网址檚 1831 novel B次元官网网址淭he Hunchback of Notre Dame.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址 lily crandall (@lilycrand)
The exact cause of the blaze was not known, but French media quoted the Paris fire brigade as saying the fire is B次元官网网址減otentially linkedB次元官网网址 to a 6 million-euro ($6.8 million) renovation project on the churchB次元官网网址檚 spire and its 250 tons of lead. The Paris prosecutorsB次元官网网址 office ruled out arson and possible terror-related motives, and said it was treating it as an accident.
Flames shot out of the roof behind the nave of the cathedral, among the most visited landmarks in the world. Hundreds of people lined up bridges around the island that houses the church, watching in shock as acrid smoke rose in plumes. Speaking alongside junior Interior minister Laurent Nunez late Monday, police chief Jean-Claude Gallet said B次元官网网址渢wo thirds of the roofing has been ravaged.B次元官网网址 Gallet said firefighters would keep working overnight to cool down the building.
Late Monday, signs pointed to the fire nearing an end as lights could be seen through the windows moving around the front of the cathedral, apparently investigators inspecting the scene.
The fire came less than a week before Easter amid Holy Week commemorations. As the cathedral burned, Parisians gathered to pray and sing hymns outside the church of Saint Julien Les Pauvres across the river from Notre Dame while the flames lit the sky behind them.
French President Emmanuel Macron was treating the fire as a national emergency, rushing to the scene and straight into meetings at the Paris police headquarters nearby. Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit invited priests across France to ring church bells in a call for prayers for the beloved Paris cathedral.
Deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said emergency services were trying to salvage the famed art pieces stored in the cathedral.
Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, Notre Dame is the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages as well as one of the most beloved structures in the world. Situated on the Ile de la Cite, an island in the Seine river, its architecture is famous for, among other things, its many gargoyles and its iconic flying buttresses.
Among the most celebrated artworks inside are its three stained-glass rose windows, placed high up on the west, north and south faces of the cathedral. Its priceless treasures also include a Catholic relic, the crown of thorns, which is only occasionally displayed, including on Fridays during Lent.
French historian Camille Pascal told BFM broadcast channel the blaze marked B次元官网网址渢he destruction of invaluable heritage.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been 800 years that the Cathedral watches over Paris,B次元官网网址 Pascal said. B次元官网网址淗appy and unfortunate events for centuries have been marked by the bells of Notre Dame.B次元官网网址
Associated Press reporters at the scene saw massive plumes of yellow brown smoke filling the air above the Cathedral and ash falling on the island that houses Notre Dame and marks the centre of Paris. As the spire fell, the sky lit up orange.
Reactions from around the world came swiftly including from the Vatican, which released a statement expressing shock and sadness for the B次元官网网址渢errible fire that has devastated the Cathedral of Notre Dame, symbol of Christianity in France and in the world.B次元官网网址
The Associated Press
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