Around 6:30pm in Paris, the fire alarm went off at the Notre Dame Cathedral. Pictures and videos shared on social media showed the cathedral ablaze.
Firefighters confirmed to Reuters that a "major operation" to battle the flames and columns of smoke was in progress. The total scale of the blaze is still unclear. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the situation a "terrible fire" in a tweet.
A spokesperson from Paris City Hall said on Twitter that the area around the fire was being cleared.
And a spokesperson for the cathedral, André Finot, told The New York Times in a telephone interview that the spire had caught fire, though the cause remains unknown.
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral was completed in 1345 and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the City of Light. Renovation work has been underway at the church.
UPDATE: The church's iconic spire has become completely engulfed in flames and has collapsed:
This is a breaking news story. We will update this post as more information becomes available.
Feature photo by FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images.
