WEB DESK
A fire broke out in the interior portion of the Nantes Cathedral, where 100 firefighters were deployed to control the blaze. Firefighters have brought under control a blaze that began inside the Nantes Cathedral on Saturday morning, officials said. The cathedral’s large pipe organ was “completely destroyed.”
The Cathedral of Saint Pierre and Saint Paul in Nantes is a gothic-style structure that dates back to the 15th century.
Some 100 firefighters were deployed to put out the fire, whose flames could be seen through the church’s front windows as smoke poured out of them. No one was injured.
Curious residents and tourists crowded around the structure as emergency workers cordoned off much of the city’s historical center on the Loire River.
Authorities said the blaze was limited to the church pipe organ. Local fire department chief Laurent Ferlay said the organ was “completely destroyed” and that the platform on which it sits was found on the verge of collapse.
French prosecutors said arson was suspected, noting the blaze had erupted in “three separate places.”