People react in horror to the collapse of the spire at Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday. Later that night, a crowd of onlookers sing Ave Maria as the historic building burns. Read more:
What remained was a blackened shell of the monument immortalized in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," a building that had survived almost 900 years of tumultuous French history but was devastated amid renovation works at the start of Catholic Easter week.Its iconic twin bell towers remained visibly intact.
"Notre Dame was destroyed but the soul of France was not," Michel Aupetit, archbishop of Paris, said on RMC radio. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild the cathedral that he called "a part of us" and appealed for help to do so. A statement from Francois-Henri Pinault said "this tragedy impacts all French people" and "everyone wants to restore life as quickly as possible to this jewel of our heritage."
The cathedral's roof cannot be rebuilt exactly as it was before the fire because "we don't, at the moment, have trees on our territory of the size that were cut in the 13th century," he said, adding the roof restoration work would have to use new technologies.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Dawn in Paris and Notre Dame cathedral is revealed as a fire ravaged shell‘The entire fire is out’: At dawn, the twin 69-meter towers swarmed with building specialists and architects trying to determine whether the blackened shell is structurally sound
Read more »
‘Nothing will remain’: Firefighters battle devastating blaze at Notre Dame cathedral in ParisParis firefighters battle huge blaze at city's Notre Dame cathedral — spire collapses, whole building is burning
Read more »
Paris firefighters battle huge blaze at city’s Notre Dame cathedral — spire collapses, whole building is burningThe sight stopped pedestrians in their tracks along the Seine River, which passes under the cathedral
Read more »
Catastrophic fire engulfs Notre Dame Cathedral in ParisA massive fire engulfed the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of the French capital Monday, toppling its spire and sending thick plumes of smoke high into the blue sky as tourists and Parisians watched in horror from the streets below.
Read more »
'Everything is burning': Fire engulfs Notre Dame Cathedral in ParisA catastrophic fire engulfed the upper reaches of Paris' 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.
Read more »
Toronto archbishop laments destruction of Notre Dame cathedral in ParisThe Archbishop of Toronto said Monday the fire that heavily damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a tragic event that has touched people everywhere.
Read more »