MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2019) London stands in sorrow with Paris, London mayor Sadiq Khan said on Monday, reacting to the massive fire at iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in the French capital.
"Heartbreaking scenes of Notre Dame cathedral in flames. London stands in sorrow with Paris today, and in friendship always. #NotreDame," Khan tweeted.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert also took to Twitter to react to the Paris fire.
"It hurts to see these horrible images of burning #NotreDame. #NotreDame is a symbol of France and our European culture. Our thoughts are with [our] French friends. #Paris," Seibert wrote.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez added that the fire was "a catastrophe for France."
"And it [a catastrophe] for Spain and for Europe. The flames devastate 850 years of history, of architecture, of painting, of sculpture. It will be hard to forget it. France can count on us in regaining the grandeur of its heritage," he wrote.
The blaze on the famed site started at about 6:50 p.m. local time (16:50 GMT). Photos on social media show massive plumes of brown smoke and thick ash filling the air above the medieval Catholic cathedral, a popular tourist spot. A clock on the facade of the cathedral and the building's roof have collapsed, a Sputnik correspondent said.
