PARIS (CNA) — The Cathedrale Notre-Dame is on fire, according to the Paris fire department. Multiple eyewitnesses shared photos and videos of the cathedral with visible plumes of smoke and flames across the cathedral’s roof.
Firefighters responded to an alarm raised shortly before 7 p.m., according to the newspaper Le Monde.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo issued a series of brief statements via Twitter saying that emergency responders are fighting to control the flames and appealing to local residents to keep the area clear to assist their efforts.
Officials have not yet determined what caused the fire, which is still burning.
The landmark cathedral in the French capital is one of the most recognizable churches in the world. The fire comes after several weeks of vandalism and arson attacks on church buildings across France.
According to various reports, the famed spire has collapsed. Notre-Dame is affiliated with many French saints, including St. Joan of Arc, and is the setting of Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.”
This is a developing story and is being updated.
