Short-circuit eyed in Notre Dame probe

PARIS - Police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said on Thursday, as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark.

A judicial police official said that investigators made an initial assessment of the cathedral on Wednesday but don't have a green light to search Notre Dame's charred interior because of ongoing safety hazards.

The cathedral's fragile walls were being shored up with wooden planks, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak by name about an ongoing investigation.

Investigators so far believe the fire was accidental, and are questioning both cathedral staff and workers who were carrying out renovations. Nearly 40 people had been questioned by Thursday, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

The police official would not comment on an unsourced report in Le Parisian newspaper that investigators are looking at whether the fire could have been linked to a computer glitch or the temporary elevators used in the renovation work, among other things. The prosecutor's office said only that "all leads must be explored".

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants Notre Dame to be restored in five years, in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which Paris is hosting. Restoration specialists have questioned the ambitious timeline, with some saying it could take three times that long to rebuild the 850-year-old architectural treasure.

Earlier on Thursday, Macron held a ceremony at the Elysee Palace to thank the hundreds of firefighters who battled the fire at Notre Dame for nine hours starting on Monday evening, preventing the structure's destruction and rescuing many of the important relics held inside.

"We've seen before our eyes the right things perfectly organized in a few moments, with responsibility, courage, solidarity and a meticulous organization", Macron said. "The worst has been avoided."

The cathedral's lead roof and its soaring spire were destroyed, but Notre Dame's iconic bell towers, rose windows, organ and precious artworks were saved.

Macron said the firefighters will receive an Honor Medal for their courage and devotion.

Remarkably, no one was killed in the blaze that broke out as the cathedral was in the initial stages of a lengthy restoration.

A large swath of the island in the Seine River where Notre Dame is located was officially closed on Thursday by police, who cited "important risks" of collapse and falling objects. The area had been unofficially blocked off since the fire.

Meanwhile, workers using a crane removed some statues to lessen the weight on the cathedral's fragile gables, or support walls, to keep them from collapsing since they were no longer supported by the roof and its network of centuries-old timbers that were consumed by the inferno.

They also secured the support structure above one of Notre Dame's rose windows with wooden planks.

Associated Press

(China Daily 04/20/2019 page8)