A raging fire that tore through Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris in France, has been controlled. Firefighters managed to save the 850-year-old Gothic building’s main stone structure, including its two towers, but the spire and roof collapsed. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed relief and vowed to rebuild the cathedral described as the soul of the nation.
Around 400 firefighters battled into the night to control the flames, declaring in the early hours today that it was partially extinguished but completely under control. Fire officials tried to save as much as they could of the cathedral’s countless treasures, built up over centuries.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, but the cathedral had been undergoing intense restoration work which the fire service said could be linked to the blaze. French prosecutors said it was being currently being treated as an accident. Historians expressed dismay at the collapse of a building that has been a symbol of France for almost a millennium.