It’s sad, shocking, and surreal to start my work day watching an 800-year-old landmark burn in realtime. I was in Paris last year street shooting with the a9 and by bike. From the BREAKING NEWS Wire
A fire broke out at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. The cause was unknown, and firefighters were on the scene after an evacuation.
Monday, April 15, 2019 1:29 PM ESTAndré Finot, a spokesman for the cathedral, said in a telephone interview that the spire of the cathedral had caught fire.
Video filmed by onlookers and shared on social media showed smoke and flames billowing from the top of the cathedral, engulfing scaffolding and the spire.
I didn’t publish any photos of Notre-Dame when I took them because the scene there is mostly tourists taking photos. Here they are now and shared with a sadness for a landmark everyone should see and photograph. I’m sure they’ll rebuild it.
Notre Dame is a symbol of France. Imagine the scene as thousands stood on the banks of the Seine river watching in shock when the fire tore through the cathedral’s wooden roof and brought down part of the spire.
Part of Paris Burned
Video shared on Twitter showed smoke and flames billowing from the top of the cathedral and the iconic cathedral collapsing.
#Breaking: Just in – Close up Video of The concrete spire of the iconic cathédrale Notre-Dame de #Paris collapsing inside the church.#NotreDame #France pic.twitter.com/DL5FTJJeHy
— Sotiri Dimpinoudis ❁ (@sotiridi) April 15, 2019
Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the cathedral is currently undergoing extensive renovation work. That’s what I saw around the back of the building. There were gargoyles stacked in scaffolding.
About Notre-Dame, Mr. Macron said on Twitter
Like all of our fellow citizens, I am sad tonight to see this part of us burn.
Feature photo: FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP
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