Notre-Dame fire: Millions pledged to rebuild cathedral

Hundreds of millions of euros have been pledged to help rebuild Notre-Dame after a devastating fire partially destroyed the French cathedral.

The fire, declared fully extinguished some 15 hours after it began, ravaged the 850-year-old building’s roof and caused its spire to collapse.

But firefighters who worked through the night managed to save the Paris landmark’s main stone structure, including its two towers.

The cause of the fire is not yet clear.

Paris public prosecutor Rémy Heitz said his office was “favouring the theory of an accident”, but had assigned 50 people to work on what he believed would be a “long” and “complex” investigation.

Other officials have suggested it could be linked to extensive renovation works taking place at the cathedral.

Thoughts are now turning to how Notre-Dame will be rebuilt.

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to reconstruct the historic building even as the fire still burned, while a number of companies and business tycoons have so far pledged about €600m ($677m; £519m) between them.

Offers of help with the reconstruction have also poured in from around the globe, with European Council President Donald Tusk calling on EU member states to rally round.

What happened?

The blaze was discovered at 18:43 (16:43 GMT), and firefighters were called. The flames quickly reached the roof of the cathedral, destroying the wooden interior before toppling the spire.

Fears grew that the cathedral’s famous towers would also be destroyed.

But while a number of fires did begin in the towers, French Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said they were successfully stopped before they could spread.

By the early hours of Tuesday, the fire was declared under control, with the Paris fire service saying it was fully extinguished by 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT).