PARIS, April 17 (Newswires) - French investigators probing the devastating blaze at Notre-Dame Cathedral on Tuesday questioned workers who were renovating the monument while hundreds of millions of euros were pledged to restore the historic masterpiece.
As firefighters put out the last smouldering embers, a host of French billionaires and companies stepped forward with offers of cash worth around 700 million euros ($790 million) to remake the global landmark.
Most of the roof has been destroyed, its steeple has collapsed and an unknown number of artefacts and paintings have been lost. The main organ, which had close to 8,000 pipes, has also suffered damage.
But the cathedral’s walls, bell towers and the most famous circular stained-glass windows at France’s most visited tourist attraction remain intact, leading the vicar general Philippe Marsset to call it “more than miraculous”.
Investigators interviewed witnesses overnight and began speaking with employees of five different construction companies that were working on the monument, said public prosecutor Remy Heitz.
“Nothing indicates this was a deliberate act,” Heitz told reporters, adding that 50 investigators had been assigned to what he expected to be a “long and complex” case.
The architect in charge of the renovation project slated to last until 2022 said no workers were on the site when flames first appeared shortly before 7pm on Monday.
After the devastating inferno in the historic cathedral of Notre Dame, there are now signs that the deployment of the first firefighters was delayed because the fire was displayed in the wrong place due to a software error. This may have taken valuable time to fight the fire that appears to have erupted at the base of the tower.
It is unclear what triggered the fire itself. According to Le Parisien, there are indications that it may have been an electrical problem. "It could have been a short-circuit," a source is quoted in the paper. According to the source, experts are investigating whether the cause could be the elevators that were built for the tower's restoration work. The theory that the fire was triggered during welding work is unlikely.