Valuable items recovered after Notre Dame fire

THE inferno that raged through Notre Dame Cathedral for more than 12 hours destroyed its spire and its roof, but spared its twin medieval bell towers, and a frantic rescue effort saved the monument’s most precious treasures.

The Roman Catholic cathedral’s high altar was damaged by falling debris when the spire collapsed, one official said.

Authorities consider the fire an accident, possibly as a result of restoration work.

Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said the inquiry into what caused the fire would be “long and complex”. Fifty investigators were working on it and would interview workers from five companies hired for the renovations to the cathedral’s roof, where the flames first broke out.

Heitz said an initial fire alert was sounded at 6.20pm on Monday, but no fire was found. The second alert was sounded at 6.43pm and the blaze was discovered on the roof.

“Notre Dame has survived the revolutionary history of France, and this happened during building works,” said influential former culture minister Jack Lang.

The Crown of Thorns, regarded as Notre Dame’s most sacred relic, was among the treasures quickly transported from the cathedral after the fire broke out, said deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire.

Brought to Paris by King Louis IX in the 13th century, it is purported to have been pressed on to Christ’s head during the crucifixion, said Culture Minister Franck Riester.

Riester thanked teams from city hall, the culture ministry, firefighters and the bishopric, who worked to save the items.

Other works were being transferred from City Hall to the Louvre Museum. There they will be dehumidified, protected and eventually restored. The minister said the cathedral’s greatest paintings would be removed from tomorrow. “We assume they have not been damaged by the fire, but there will be damage from the smoke.”

The 3m-tall copper statues that looked over the city from Notre Dame’s 96m peak had already been sent to south-western France for work that is part of a €6million (R94.5m) renovation project on the spire and its 250tons of lead.

Much was saved in the interior too. The cathedral’s high altar, installed in 1989 under Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, was the only major work damaged inside the building, hit when the spire collapsed, said Laurent Prades, heritage director for Notre Dame.

“We have been able to salvage all the rest,” said Prades, who watched the recovery overnight.

The three large stained glass rose windows have not been destroyed, Prades said, but added they will be assessed by an expert.

Peter Fuessenich, who oversees reconstruction for the Gothic cathedral in Cologne, Germany, said it could take decades to repair Notre Dame. Cologne Cathedral was heavily damaged during World War II and work to repair it is still ongoing more than 70 years later. | AP African News Agency (ANA)