JOIN USNotre Dame fire: 'I saw flames on the skyline'
For Megha Sud, it was a routine morning at work in Paris until she heard that the Notre Dame Cathedral was burning.
Megha, who works with the International Energy Agency, Paris, recollects, “I was on my desk when my colleagues started saying that the Notre Dame is burning. I had just read an article on the renovation of the cathedral and the removal of the statues in the morning. I thought I was hearing the crowd wrong. Then I went to the corridor where we have a view of the city and saw the flames and smoke on the skyline.
My sister, Nina, sent a video of the spire collapsing and I still couldn't believe this was happening. We used to live close to the cathedral.
I walked to the closest bridge that was still open. It was a bit comforting to watch with others rather than watch images on the news alone. The words 'this is horrible' and 'it will all go' and 'it will never be the same' we're heard often. By this time the police drone image from above was out and we could see the whole roof had collapsed.
I had to walk a long way around to get home because the area had been closed off. The little streets around the cathedral were still full of tourists, bars playing loud music people and standing in line for late night crepes and kabab sandwiches.
The cathedral was destroyed in the revolution when most church properties were vandalised. It was used as a warehouse for many years. The book by Victor Hugo inspired the city to restore it.
Nina pointed out that the Victor Hugo book ends with the cathedral burning down.”