 |
| Notre Dame On Fire Source: #NotreDame |
Notre-Dame cathedral was engulfed by fire, Monday evening. It is yet to be known what caused the fire, but Paris prosecutors said they were treating it as an accident.
Firefighters have saved the two main towers of the cathedral from complete blaze down that threatened the centuries old building in the heart of the French capital, leaving atleast one firefighter seriously injured according to a fire service official cited by Reuters news agency.
General Jean-Claude Gallet, head of the Paris fire service, told reporters outside the cathedral late on Monday evening that the "main structure" of the building had been "preserved" amid the inferno, which had erupted just hours earlier.
French President Emmanuel Macron who came to the scene said "the worst has been avoided, even if the battle has not been fully won". Calling the cathedral "the very centre of our lives", and vowed that France will rebuild Notre Dame. "It is what French people expect, because it is what our history deserves, because it is our deep destiny" he added.
Parisians and visitors gathered to watch in horror and disbelief from the nearby banks of the River Seine as emergency workers fought back enormous flames coming out of the iconic Gothic landmark. The firefighters were unable to save the building's spire, which was toppled by the blaze, and large swathes of the structure's roof.
The cathedral which is a major tourist attraction dates back to the 12th century and is famous for featuring in Victor Hugo's classic novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame".
No comments:
Post a Comment