Prestigious Parisian palace damaged in flames

  • 11 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: A fire caused serious damage to a 17th century palace in central Paris early on Wednesday, burning away a huge portion of its rooftop just as a costly renovation was near completion.

The Qatari-owned Hotel Lambert on the Ile Saint-Louis island on the River Seine was one of the most well-preserved private mansions in Paris. Its architect Louis Le Vau also designed the Palace of Versailles.

Fire-fighters rushed to the mansion at around 1 a.m. in some video footage they released, they were seen struggling for six hours to contain the blaze, which broke out in a hard-to-access area below the rooftop for reasons as yet unknown. No one was injured.

By the time the fire was put out, a large part of the roof had gone, part of a central staircase and some facade masonry had collapsed and rooms had been damaged by water and smoke, fire brigade spokesman Pascal Le Test said. They managed to prevent the blaze from spreading to surrou

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