Firefighters declared success Tuesday in a more than 12-hour battle to extinguish an inferno engulfing Parissa国际传媒� iconic Notre Dame cathedral that claimed its spire and roof, but spared its bell towers and the purported Crown of Christ.
What remained was a blackened shell of the monument immortalized in Victor Hugosa国际传媒檚 1831 novel sa国际传媒淭he Hunchback of Notre Dame,sa国际传媒� a building that had survived almost 900 years of tumultuous French history but was devastated amid renovation works at the start of Catholic Easter week.
Its iconic twin bell towers remained visibly intact. Paris officials said the world famous 18th century organ that boasts 8,000 pipes also appeared to have survived, along with other treasures inside the cathedral, after a plan to safeguard heritage was quickly put into action.
Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire described authoritiessa国际传媒� sa国际传媒渆normous reliefsa国际传媒� at the salvaging of pieces such as the purported Crown of Christ, which were transported to a sa国际传媒渟ecret locationsa国际传媒� after the fire. Statues removed just days ago for restoration work were also spared.
VIDEO: Massive fire engulfs beloved Notre Dame Cathedral
At dawn, the twin 69-meter towers swarmed with building specialists and architects.
sa国际传媒淭he entire fire is out,sa国际传媒� declared Paris firefighterssa国际传媒� spokesman Gabriel Plus, adding that workers were sa国际传媒渟urveying the movement of structures and extinguishing smouldering residues.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淭he task is sa国际传媒� now the risk of fire has been put aside sa国际传媒� about the building, how the structure will resist,sa国际传媒� said Junior Interior Minister Laurent Nunez in front of the cathedral.
One of the citysa国际传媒檚 five senior vicars, Philippe Marsset, told AP: sa国际传媒淚f God intervened (in the blaze) it was in the courage of the firefighters.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淣otre Dame was destroyed but the soul of France was not,sa国际传媒� Michel Aupetit, archbishop of Paris, said on RMC radio.
Officials consider the fire an accident, possibly as a result of the restoration work at the global architectural treasure.
Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said the investigation would be sa国际传媒渓ong and complex.sa国际传媒� Fifty investigators were working on the probe, he said, and would be interviewing workers from five companies hired to work on renovations to the cathedralsa国际传媒檚 roof, where the flames first broke out.
Heitz said an initial fire alert was sounded at 6:20 p.m. Monday but no fire was found. The second alert was sounded at 6:43 p.m. and a blaze was discovered in the roofing at that point.
News that the fire was probably accidental has done nothing to ease the national mourning.
sa国际传媒淣otre Dame has survived the revolutionary history of France, and this happened during building works,sa国际传媒� said influential former Culture Minister Jack Lang.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild the cathedral that he called sa国际传媒渁 part of ussa国际传媒� and appealed for help to do so.
So sorry notre dame 馃槳
sa国际传媒� Jack of all trades (@sarvy_pune)
As France woke up in collective sadness, its richest businessman, Bernard Arnault, and his luxury goods group LVMH pledged 200 million euros ($226 million) for the reconstruction.
A communique said the Arnault family was sa国际传媒渋n solidarity with this national tragedy, and join in the reconstruction of this extraordinary cathedral, a symbol of France, of its heritage and togetherness.sa国际传媒�
Businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, who is married to Salma Hayek, and his billionaire father Francois Pinault also said they were immediately giving 100 million euros from their company, Artemis, to help finance repairs. Artemis is the holding company owning auction house Christiesa国际传媒檚 and the main shareholder of luxury fashion houses including Gucci.
A statement from Francois-Henri Pinault said sa国际传媒渢his tragedy impacts all French peoplesa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渆veryone wants to restore life as quickly as possible to this jewel of our heritage.sa国际传媒�
The 12th-century church is home to a 18th-century organ, relics, stained glass and other works of art of incalculable value, and is a leading tourist attraction.
sa国际传媒淭he organ is a very fragile instrument, especially its pipes. It has not burnt, but no one can tell whether it has been damaged by water. Nobody knows if it is a functioning state or will need to be restored,sa国际传媒� Bertrand de Feydeau, vice-president of preservation group Fondation du Patrimoine, told AP.
Repairing the cathedral sa国际传媒� including the 800-year-old wooden beams that made up its roof sa国际传媒� presents challenges.
The cathedralsa国际传媒檚 roof cannot be rebuilt exactly as it was before the fire because sa国际传媒渨e donsa国际传媒檛, at the moment, have trees on our territory of the size that were cut in the 13th century,sa国际传媒� he said, adding the roof restoration work would have to use new technologies.
Religious statues removed last week from the cathedral roof as part of a restoration of the monumental Paris churchsa国际传媒檚 towering spire were spared.
The 3-meter-tall copper figures, which looked over the city from Notre Damesa国际传媒檚 96-meter-high peak, were sent to southwestern France for work that is part of a 6 million-euro ($6.8 million) renovation project on the cathedral spire and its 250 tons of lead.
On Thursday, the public got a first ground-level look at the statues, representing the 12 apostles and four evangelists, when a huge crane lowered them onto a truck.
An outpouring of grief and offers of help have poured in from around the world.
Pope Francis prayed for French Catholics and the Parisian population sa国际传媒渦nder the shock of the terrible fire.sa国际传媒� Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said on Twitter the pope sa国际传媒渋s close to Francesa国际传媒� and offering prayers sa国际传媒渇or all those who are trying to cope with this dramatic situation.sa国际传媒�
The Vaticansa国际传媒檚 culture minister, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, described the cathedral as a sa国际传媒渓iving creaturesa国际传媒� that has been reborn before and will continue to be the sa国际传媒渂eating heartsa国际传媒� of France.
Ravasi, whose office oversees the patrimony of the Catholic Church worldwide, said he was moved by scenes of faithful and tourists weeping as Notre Dame went up in flames, and suggested art experts at the Vatican Museums could play a role in the rebuilding.
Germany and Poland were among countries offering assistance. sa国际传媒淲e are united in sorrow. Notre Dame is part of the cultural heritage of mankind and a symbol for Europe,sa国际传媒� German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass wrote on Twitter.
In Poland, where Warsaw and many other places were rebuilt from rubble after World War II, President Andrzej Duda offered experts in the reconstruction of historic buildings.
Egyptsa国际传媒檚 top Muslim cleric expressed sadness, describing Notre Dame as a sa国际传媒渉istoric architectural masterpiece.sa国际传媒� Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim worldsa国际传媒檚 seat of learning, wrote on Facebook: sa国际传媒淥ur hearts are with our brothers in France.sa国际传媒�
Egyptsa国际传媒檚 Coptic Church expressed sa国际传媒減rofound sadness,sa国际传媒� with the head of Egyptsa国际传媒檚 Copts, Pope Tawadroz II, describing the fire as a sa国际传媒渉uge loss for entire humanity.sa国际传媒�
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John Leicester and Samuel Petrequin in Paris, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Colleen Barry in Milan and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.
Thomas Adamson, The Associated Press
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