Firefighters doused the smouldering ruins of Notre-Dame on Tuesday, the morning after a blaze swept through the cathedral in Paris as investigators tried to establish what started the fire.
Hundreds of firemen battled the flames which consumed the roof and collapsed the eight-centuries-old cathedral’s spire for more than eight hours before bringing it under control, saving its bell towers and outer walls.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had launched an inquiry into the fire. Several police sources said they were working on the assumption for now that the fire was accidental.