Fire tears through Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris
Flames engulfed the roof and toppled the spire of the 850-year-old Gothic landmark, though firefighters saved the main structure and many of its treasures.
A devastating fire swept through Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on Monday evening, destroying its roof and sending its iconic spire crashing down in flames as horrified crowds watched from the banks of the Seine.
The blaze broke out in the late afternoon, apparently linked to extensive renovation work under way on the roof, and spread rapidly through the ancient timber framework known as "the forest" for the number of oak beams used to build it. Within hours, the lead-covered spire buckled and fell, and the wooden roof was gutted.
More than 400 firefighters battled through the night to stop the fire from reaching the two great bell towers, a collapse of which could have doomed the entire structure. By morning they had largely succeeded. The stone walls, the towers and the famous rose windows survived, and a human chain helped rescue relics and artworks from inside.
The cathedral, begun in the 12th century and completed roughly 200 years later, is one of the most visited monuments in the world and a symbol of Paris itself. Its near-loss struck a deep chord in France and far beyond.
President Emmanuel Macron vowed that Notre-Dame would be rebuilt, and donations poured in within days, with French billionaires and ordinary citizens alike pledging hundreds of millions of euros. The cause of the fire was later attributed to an accident. For a nation watching its history burn, the survival of the towers at dawn felt like a reprieve.