Author: Kim Hjelmgaard and Rebecca Rosman / Source: USA TODAY
Authorities look for answers after a massive fire devastated the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. USA TODAY
PARIS — A massive fundraising campaign was being launched Tuesday to rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral, hours after a huge fire engulfed the iconic 800-year-old house of worship in the French capital.
The Paris Fire Service announced on Twitter that firefighters “came to grips with” the blaze early Tuesday, more than nine hours after they began the effort. It said nearly 400 firefighters had battled the inferno, and two policemen and one firefighter had been slightly injured.
Paris firefighters spokesman Gabriel Plus said “the entire fire is out” and that emergency services were “surveying the movement of the structures and extinguishing smoldering residues,” according to media reports.
Officials said Monday that the blaze could be linked to renovation work — the cathedral was in the midst of a $6.8 million renovation project.
France’s public prosecutor said investigators would visit the Notre Dame site Tuesday to talk to the people who were working on the renovations to try to gather information about what may have caused the fire
French President Emmanuel Macron who rushed to the scene of the blaze Monday. Announcing the fundraising effort, he vowed to reconstruct the church.
“We’ll rebuild this cathedral all together and it’s undoubtedly part of the French destiny and the project we’ll have for the coming years,” said Macron.
At least $339 million has already been pledged to help rebuild the cathedral. French billionaire Francois Henri Pinault pledged $113 million towards reconstructing the cathedral, while fellow billionaire Bernard Arnault and his LVMH group pledged $226 million.
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