Fire has torn through the nearly 760-year-old medieval Catholic cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The devastation to both the building and its contents seems beyond calculation. The tower familiar to millions collapsed late Monday afternoon Paris time. French media quote the Paris fire brigade sources saying the fire is “potentially linked” to the renovation work. France 24 English LIVE. Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. (Wikipedia)
Coincidentally, a fire broke out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem just as flames ravaged the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Footage showing smoke and fire emerging from the roof of a structure known as the Marwani Prayer Room, or Solomon’s Stables, could be seen on social media. The Palestine News Agency, the official outlet of the Palestinian National Authority, cited a guard as saying Monday that “the fire broke out in the guard’s room outside the roof of the Marwani Prayer Room, and the fire brigade of the Islamic Waqf handled the matter successfully.”
