Massive fire rips through Notre Dame cathedral in Paris

A devastating fire ripped through Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday, toppling the more than 800-year-old monument’s soaring spire as heartbroken Parisians watched and wept.

The conflagration reduced the 12th-century Gothic landmark’s roof to ashes, while firefighters battled into the night to bring the blaze under control and rescue the priceless relics and artwork inside.

No lives were lost, and officials later announced that the main structure had been saved from destruction, with both the cathedral’s facade and two main towers surviving.

But as the clock ticked past midnight in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron stood in front of the still-burning church and revealed that it would take “several days” to extinguish the flames entirely.

He lamented the “terrible tragedy” that had befallen the Roman Catholic cathedral and pledged to rebuild it, calling the house of worship “our history, our literature, our imagination.”

“I say this to you solemnly this evening: We will rebuild this cathedral. All together,” Macron said in a televised address.

“We will rebuild because it is what the French people expect, because it is what our history deserves. Because it is our profound destiny.”

The cause of the fire remained unknown Monday night, but the Paris prosecutors’ office ruled out arson and terrorism and said it was treating the blaze as an accident.

Fire officials told local media that it could be linked to a massive renovation project that was under way on the spire.

The blaze began in the cathedral’s attic just before 7 p.m., according to Le Monde newspaper, sending worshippers and visitors streaming out of the building as first responders rushed in.

Firefighters cleared the area around the cathedral, which sits on a small island, the Île de la Cité, in the Seine, but locals and tourists crowded along the banks of the river, watching in shock as the landmark burned less than a week before Easter.

Flames quickly engulfed the building’s 300-foot-high main spire, which collapsed around an hour later.

Onlookers let out gasps as the flaming steeple keeled over.

“People are just wandering around flabbergasted. There are thousands of people on the streets,” Emma O’Carroll, who works in a nearby fashion studio, told The Guardian.

“It is unbelievable. It’s just such a sad day.”

A 20-year-old student named Camille told the newspaper: “There’s a feeling of total sadness and also anger. It’s our heritage. People in the crowd have been singing hymns. Whether you’re Christian or not, part of our history is going up in smoke.”

Some witnesses wept, while others prayed and sang hymns. Around the country, churches rang their bells in.

The Paris Fire Brigade used water cannons to combat the blaze, and France’s emergency services agency tweeted that “all means” of firefighting were being used, except for “water-bombing aircrafts” because they could “lead to the collapse” of the structure.

First responders also rushed in to rescue the cathedral’s precious possessions and succeeded in saving some of the most valuable pieces.

Among the rescued relics were a crown of thorns — said to be the wreath placed on the head of Jesus before he was crucified — and a tunic worn by St. Louis, the French king, the rector of the cathedral told Le Monde.

Police and the municipal agents formed a human chain to get the items out, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted.

And Gen. Jean-Claude Gallet, the commander of the Paris Fire Brigade, told Le Parisien newspaper that “the most valuable works have been sheltered.”

But firefighters struggled to take down some of the cathedral’s large paintings in time, according to Notre Dame’s top administrative cleric, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet.

Once the fire was tamed, the central part of the cathedral seemed to be miraculously intact.

Images from the interior appeared to show that rows of wooden pews and much of the nave had been saved.

But a massive hole could be seen in the roof, and smoke was still emanating from the chancel, the area around the altar.

Gallet said that two-thirds of the roof had been “ravaged” and that one firefighter was injured fighting the flames.

“We can consider that the main structure of Notre Dame has been saved and preserved,” he said.

Macron said that the “worst had been avoided” and that a fundraising effort for the restoration would be launched Tuesday.

The French president said he would seek help internationally.

“We will call on the most talented people” from around the world, Macron said.

French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault — chairman of the Kering company, which owns luxury-goods brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga — pledged $113 million dollars toward the rebuilding effort, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Vatican said it learned of the fire with “shock and sadness” and called the cathedral a “symbol of Christianity, in France and in the world.”

“We express our closeness to the French Catholic and to the people of Paris,” spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said in a statement.

With Wire Services