Fire severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral is considered one of the biggest cultural disasters in France since World War II.
| Source: Sputnik |
At around 7pm yesterday (April 15) French time, almost midnight Vietnam time, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, one of the iconic architectural works of France, caught fire. The fire destroyed an important part of the cathedral.
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| Fire severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris |
According to initial information from the fire department, the fire most likely originated from the location that was being repaired and renovated on the roof of the church. The fire spread quickly and smoke quickly engulfed the entire church, which could be seen from kilometers away.
French authorities had to mobilize all resources and means to control the fire. As of 10 p.m. the same day, more than 400 firefighters had been mobilized to put out the fire and at the same time proceed to move valuable artifacts inside the church.
As the fire continued to rage on the roof of the building, the option of using firefighting aircraft was mentioned but was ultimately not used, due to concerns that the large volume of water falling from above would destroy the roof of the cathedral, which had already been severely weakened by the fire.
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| Fire trucks were dispatched to extinguish the fire. Photo: CNN |
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was scheduled to give a very important speech on television at around 8 p.m. the same day, had to cancel his plan to focus on related emergency activities.
As of midnight last night Paris time, or nearly 5am today Vietnam time, the fire has not yet been controlled. Up to this point, the fire has basically destroyed the roof, especially collapsing the tallest spire of the church.
In addition, historical and cultural damages are estimated to be very large because inside Notre Dame Cathedral, priceless French artifacts are stored such as ancient paintings, ancient altars and ancient tombs...
A deep sadness is covering the entire capital of Paris, the entire France and even Europe. Tears have fallen on the cheeks of so many people that one politician exclaimed that he wished all the tears that were falling could combine to form a rain, to stop the fire that was destroying Notre Dame Cathedral. Mr. Stéphane Bern, the man appointed by the French President to be in charge of cultural heritage, broke down in tears on television saying that “France and its history are going up in smoke”.
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| The entire roof of the church collapsed. Photo: CNN |
Meanwhile, many political leaders around the world such as US President Donald Trump, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister, UNESCO leaders, the Vatican and many other countries immediately expressed deep sadness about this incident, at the same time showing solidarity and readiness to provide necessary support to France.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is an iconic architectural work of France in general and Paris in particular, considered the heart of Paris. The cathedral was built continuously for nearly 200 years, from the beginning of the 12th century to the 14th century. With a history of more than 850 years, Notre Dame Cathedral is associated with most historical and cultural events of France in particular and Europe in general.
This is also one of the most famous tourist destinations in France with about 13 million visitors each year. The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is one of the biggest cultural disasters in France since World War II./.