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Firefighters battle to save 580 year-old Cathedral in Nantes, France, as huge blaze breaks out (VIDEOS, PHOTOS) ‘Major fire’ rocks 580 year-old Nantes Cathedral in France but damage ‘not comparable’ to Notre Dame (VIDEOS)
(32 minutes later)
Firefighters are battling to save a historic cathedral in the western French city of Nantes after a “major fire” broke out on Saturday morning. Firefighters say they have contained a huge blaze that broke out inside a historic cathedral in the western French city of Nantes on Saturday morning.
Video footage from the scene showed smoke billowing out of the Cathedral of Saint Pierre and Saint Paul, which dates back to the 15th century. Flames could also be seen leaping inside the building in footage released by the French fire brigade. It said the "major fire" was still advancing and 60 firefighters had been dispatched to the scene. Video footage from the scene showed smoke billowing out of the Cathedral of Saint Pierre and Saint Paul, which dates back to the 15th century. Flames could also be seen leaping inside the building in footage released by the French fire brigade, which deployed dozens of firefighters to the scene to tackle the “major fire”.
An eyewitness who lives near the cathedral told the LCI news outlet that he was woken up by "a very strange sound of bells" and he could see the fire from his home. "From what I can see, there is more and more smoke," he said. Several hours later emergency officials announced that the fire had been contained and noted that the damage was not comparable to last year’s inferno at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and people were urged to avoid the area. "The damage is concentrated on the organ, which seems to be completely destroyed. It's platform is very unstable and could collapse," regional fire chief General Laurent Ferlay told reporters in front of the cathedral.
The roof of the Catholic cathedral previously suffered fire significant damage in 1972 when a blaze broke out. The impressive building had to be closed for three years to allow the necessary restorations to take place. The church was also partly destroyed during World War Two when it was bombed by Allied forces in 1944. An eyewitness who lives near the cathedral earlier told the LCI news outlet that he was woken up by "a very strange sound of bells" and he could see the fire from his home. "From what I can see, there is more and more smoke," he said.
The fire comes just over a year after the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris fell victim to a massive blaze, which destroyed its main spire and caused extensive damage. The roof of the Catholic cathedral previously suffered fire significant damage in 1972 when a blaze broke out. The impressive building had to be closed for three years to allow the necessary restorations to take place. The church was also partly destroyed during World War Two when it was bombed by Allied forces in 1944.
The fire comes just over a year after Notre Dame fell victim to a massive blaze, which destroyed its main spire and caused extensive damage.
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