Fire breaks out in Rouen Cathedral spire, France

The spire of the Gothic cathedral of the French city of Rouen, in the Normandy region, caught fire on Thursday while renovation work was being carried out, according to French media.

The mayor of the town, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, has indicated on his X profile that, for the moment, the causes of the fire are unknown and that there are no victims. However, emergency services are already in the area.

Television images on BFM channel showed a dark column of smoke rising from the spire. On the street, people looked up in horror. The cathedral, one of the most beautiful and well-known in France, was painted several times by the impressionist artist Claude Monet in the 19th century.

The scene recalls the devastating fire in the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in 2019, which also broke out while a restoration process was being carried out, the agency reports. Reuters.

The spire of the cathedral of Rouen had been surrounded by scaffolding and a white cover for several weeks.

The local prefecture, which exercises state authority in the region, has noted that the cathedral had been evacuated and that emergency services had established a security cordon around the building.