The Notre Dame Cathedral's structure was seriously damaged by the fire. According to media reports, the blaze may have been ignited during restoration work. The French prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the damage caused by the Notre Dame fire, which is still believed to be an accident.
Soon after the tragic accident, the French heritage foundation and the US-based French Heritage Society began fund-raising campaigns to help rebuild the landmark cathedral. French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has, in turn, pledged in a statement to donate together with his father as much as 100 million euros (over $113 million) for the reconstruction of the cathedral.
Smokes ascends as flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on 15 April 2019 afternoon, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said.
Smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on 15 April 2019, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said.
Smoke billows from the Notre Dame Cathedral after a fire broke out, in Paris, France, 15 April 2019.
Flames and smoke are seen billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on 15 April 2019. - A fire broke out at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said.Images posted on social media showed flames and huge clouds of smoke billowing above the roof of the gothic cathedral, the most visited historic monument in Europe.
Smoke billows as fire engulfs the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France 15 April 2019.
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© Sputnik
A fire broke out at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris
A fire broke out at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris
The steeple of the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral collapses as the cathedral is engulfed in flames in central Paris on April 15, 2019. - A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on 15 April 15 sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.
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© AP Photo / Lori Hinant
Notre Dame cathedral is burning in Paris, Monday, 15 April 2019. Massive plumes of yellow brown smoke is filling the air above Notre Dame Cathedral and ash is falling on tourists and others around the island that marks the center of Paris.
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© AP Photo / Thibault Camus
Flames rise from Notre Dame cathedral as it burns in Paris, Monday, 15 April 2019. Massive plumes of yellow brown smoke is filling the air above Notre Dame Cathedral and ash is falling on tourists and others around the island that marks the center of Paris.
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© Sputnik
A fire broke out at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris
A man watches the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral burn, engulfed in flames, in central Paris on April 15, 2019. - A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on 15 April 2019, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.
Smoke billows as fire engulfs the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France 15 April 2019.
A woman looks on near Notre Dame Cathedral after it suffered heavy damage from a fire, in Paris, France 15 April 2019.
Firefighters douse flames billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on 15 April 2019. - A fire broke out at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said.
Smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on 15 April 2019, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said. - A major fire broke out at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky, the fire service said. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year, where renovations are currently underway.
An image taken from a television screen shows an aerial view of the Notre-Dame Cathedral engulfed in flames on 15 April 2019, in the French capital Paris. - A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on 15 April 2019, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.
A woman reacts as she watches the flames engulf the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on 15 April 2019. - A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.
The fire in the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris
The fire in the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris
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© AP Photo / Francois Mori
A fire fighter uses a hose as Notre Dame cathedral is burning in Paris, Monday, 15 April 2019. A catastrophic fire engulfed the upper reaches of Paris' soaring Notre Dame Cathedral as it was undergoing renovations Monday, threatening one of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western world as tourists and Parisians looked on aghast from the streets below.
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© AP Photo / Diana Ayanna
Flames and smoke rise as the spire on Notre Dame cathedral collapses in Paris, Monday, 15 April 2019. Massive plumes of yellow brown smoke is filling the air above Notre Dame Cathedral and ash is falling on tourists and others around the island that marks the center of Paris.
Paris Fire brigade members are seen at an entrance that looks into the Notre Dame Cathedral as a fire continues to burn in Paris, France, 15 April 2019.
Fire fighters hold their helmets as they walk away from the the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral engulfed in flames on 15 April 2019, in the French capital Paris. - A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on 15 April 2019, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.
Firefighters extinguish a fire in the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Fire fighting in Notre Dame de Paris.
