07/18/2020 - 15:36
- Clarín.com
- World
A year after Notre Dame de Paris was partially shattered by the flames, another fire, which may have been intentional according to investigators, caused major damage this Saturday at the 16th-century Gothic cathedral in Nantes, western France.
Prosecutor Pierre Sennes announced the opening of an investigation by voluntary fire taking into account that the first firefighters who entered the cathedral found three different sources of fire , one in the elevated platform where the great organ of the cathedral was, which turned out to be fully charred, and two others at points far from the ship.
However, no traces of irruption were found by force in the exterior accesses of the cathedral, said Sennès, so the mystery of the origin of the fire continues.
Prosecutor Sennes was cautious and pointed out that no conclusions can be drawn. "We still have a lot of research to do that can bring new elements," he explained.
According to Father Hubert Champenois, rector of the cathedral, "everything was in order" on Friday night. "Every night before closing, a very precise inspection is done," he said.
The historic Gothic cathedral of Nantes, in France, suffered major damage from a fire this Saturday. It is investigated whether it was intentional./EFE
On Saturday shortly before 7:45 am local time, "bystanders who saw flames behind the rose window" gave the alert, according to firefighters. The image rekindled painful memories of the Notre Dame de Paris fire on April 15, 2019.
A column of black smoke escaped from the huge facade of the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and covered the sky in the center of Nantes, according to images captured by AFPTV.
The firefighters then discovered " a violent fire in the organ behind the rose window and the action was concentrated in this focus," said the departmental director of firefighters, General Laurent Ferlay.
Several fire engines came to the Cathedral of Nantes, in France, to put out the fire that destroyed the organ and other sectors. / AFP
The lifeguards also "carried out surveys of the building and took care of the protection of the works of art, in connection with the cathedral authorities," he added.
Thanks to a hundred firefighters, the fire was controlled fairly quickly. Firefighters announced that he was "circumscribed" at around 10 am.
France's Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot, Prime Minister Jean Castex, Nantes Mayor Johanna Rolland and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin approached the Gothic cathedral in Nantes after the fire and greeted firefighters. / REUTERS
According to the first reviews, " the damage is concentrated in the large organ that appears to be completely destroyed. The platform it is on is very unstable and threatens to collapse," said Ferlay.
However, the damage cannot be compared to that caused by the Notre Dame de Paris fire.
On a crane, firefighters analyze the damage caused by the flames in the cathedral of Nantes, this Saturday. / AFP
Also damaged were a 19th-century painting by Hippolyte Flandrin, part of the choir chairs that were recent, and stained-glass windows on the façade, part of which were vestiges of 16th-century stained glass, said Laurent Delpire, curator of Antiquities and art objects from the Loire-Atlantique department.
The diocesan administrator, Father François Renaud, in charge of the cathedral, told the AFP agency that "the great organ has completely disappeared. It is very impressive and is an invaluable loss."
But the vast majority of works of art are safe and the structure of the basilica is also because, as the spokesman for the National Federation of Firemen, Eric Brocardi, said, "a priori" the fundamental constructive elements that are the walls and ceiling, but above all a part of the interior furniture.
The director of the fire brigade pointed out that the fire this Saturday is far from what happened in Notre Dame, and said that the situation is also not comparable to that of the fire that the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul of Nantes suffered on January 28, 1972.
Then it was an accidental fire caused by a torch from a worker who worked in restoration work that caused the entire roof to collapse when the wooden beams that supported it burned, and which was later replaced by a much reinforced concrete structure more resistant to that type of accident.
The mayor, Johanna Rolland, who evoked that tragedy of almost half a century ago, affirmed that the feeling that dominated the inhabitants of her city this Saturday was "emotion" and "sadness" because the cathedral is a symbol for Catholics but also for all natives.
"It is a part of our history, a part of our heritage," added Rolland.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex visited the site on Saturday afternoon.
"It is now the turn of the investigation, in which, until now, I do not have any precise element of information. Then it will be the turn of reconstruction, which I want to be as fast as possible and in which the State will take part" Castex stated.
Après Notre-Dame, the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, au cœur de Nantes, is in flammes. Soutien à nos sapeurs-pompiers qui prennent tous les risques pour sauver ce jewel gothique de la cité des Ducs.
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 18, 2020For his part, the President of France Emmanuel Macron tweeted his "support for our firefighters who take all the necessary risks to save this Gothic gem of the city of the Dukes".
The construction of the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in flamboyant Gothic style, lasted several centuries (from 1434 to 1891), with towers erected in 1508, of a height of 63 meters.
In 1972, another incident had been declared within it as a result of the work carried out on the roof.
After that fire, the cathedral could not be returned to religious worship until May 1985, after more than 13 years of reconstruction works.
Source: AFP and EFE
