Massive fire engulfs Notre Dame cathedral

Twitter

A massive fire that struck the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is now under control.

It broke out on Monday evening and quickly spread, causing the collapse of the cathedral's spire and the destruction of its roof structure, which dated back to the 13th century.

Firefighters managed to stop the flames spreading to the iconic towers of the 12th-century building, and its façade has also been saved.

By early Tuesday morning, officials said the fire was under control and several invaluable artefacts had been rescued.

President Emmanuel Macron, who visited the site said a fund will be launched to help pay for what could be a massive reconstruction project.

The exact cause of the fire is still unclear, but as our Paris correspondent Elena Casas explains, renovation work has been taking place at the cathedral recently.

More from International News

  • US military targets IS in Syria strikes

    The US military said on Saturday it carried out multiple strikes in Syria targeting ISIS as part of an operation that Washington launched in December after an attack on American personnel.

  • Israeli fire kills three people in Gaza, tension rises

    Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents across Gaza, local health authorities said, as tension rises over continued violence.

  • Tens of thousands protest in Minneapolis over fatal ICE shooting

    Tens of thousands of people marched through Minneapolis on Saturday to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a US immigration agent, part of more than 1,000 rallies planned nationwide over the weekend against the federal government's deportation drive.

  • One dead in Australian bush fires

    At least one person has died in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland, police said on Sunday.