Bell towers, the purported Crown of Christ and the famous 18th century organ appear to have survived an inferno at Paris' iconic Notre Dame cathedral.
Man kneels as people came to watch and photograph the Notre Dame cathedral after the fire in Paris, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. Experts are assessing the blackened shell of Paris' iconic Notre Dame cathedral to establish next steps to save what remains after a devastating fire destroyed much of the almost 900-year-old building.
Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire described authorities’ “enormous relief” at the salvaging of pieces such as the purported Crown of Christ, which were transported to a “secret location” after the fire. Statues removed just days ago for restoration work were also spared.“The entire fire is out,” declared Paris firefighters’ spokesman Gabriel Plus, adding that workers were “surveying the movement of structures and extinguishing smoldering residues.
Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said the investigation would be “long and complex.” Fifty investigators were working on the probe, he said, and would be interviewing workers from five companies hired to work on renovations to the cathedral’s roof, where the flames first broke out. A communique said the Arnault family was “in solidarity with this national tragedy, and join in the reconstruction of this extraordinary cathedral, a symbol of France, of its heritage and togetherness.”
“The 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,” Bertrand de Feydeau, vice president of preservation group Fondation du Patrimoine, told AP.
The 3-meter-tall copper figures, which looked over the city from Notre Dame’s 96-meter-high peak, were sent to southwestern France for work that is part of a 6 million-euro renovation project on the cathedral spire and its 250 tons of lead.
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