Updated: Dawn in Paris and Notre Dame cathedral is revealed as a fire ravaged shell NotreDameCathedralFire
PARIS – France on Tuesday was confronting the scorched remains of Notre Dame Cathedral as officials announced they had extinguished the inferno that partly damaged a symbol of the nation. Authorities said their first investigations suggested that the fire started by accident, perhaps in connection with much-needed renovations that left part of the renowned Gothic church encased in scaffolding.
The overall structure of the church appears to be intact, Junior Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters on the plaza after touring part of the structure. But Notre Dame has “some points of vulnerability,” he said, at the vault, part of the roof of the north transept and part of the southern belfry.“The preliminary investigation suggests an accidental hypothesis,” said Paris Prosecutor Rémy Heitz, adding that there were no indications that the blaze was started deliberately.
Speaking on French radio early Tuesday, Culture Minister Franck Riester said many priceless works of art in the cathedral were saved and that Notre Dame’s organ had survived. He also confirmed preliminary reports from firefighters that they had been able to save the church’s two most hallowed relics: a tunic worn by Saint Louis, a 13th-century French king, and the crown of thorns that Jesus is said to have worn.
“The heart of the nave has suffered enormously,” said José Vaz de Matos, a French official in charge of fire safety in cultural landmarks.The fire began in the early evening, as rush-hour traffic clogged the banks of the Seine. Firefighters describing their efforts to local media said they first had to get through the crowded streets.
One of the city’s five senior vicars, Philippe Marsset, told AP: “If God intervened it was in the courage of the firefighters.”
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