Notre Dame fire: Catastrophic inferno that destroyed greatest Gothic cathedral

French firefighters after battling for hours saved the main structure of the 850-year-old UNESCO world heritage landmark. According to reports, the fire is said to be under control and has "partially extinguished" as of now.

A massive fire swept through the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris on Monday, causing a spire to collapse and raising fear that the entire centuries-old masterpiece may be destroyed.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately confirmed. The cathedral had been undergoing intense restoration work which the fire service said could be linked to the blaze. There was no immediate indication of any casualties in the blaze.

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that “we will rebuild” Notre-Dame and expressed relief that “the worst has been avoided”. "If Paris is the Eiffel Tower then France is Notre Dame. It's the entire culture, entire history of France incarnated in this monument," Bernard Lecompte, a writer and specialist in religious history told BFM TV.

The Vatican on Monday expressed its "incredulity" and "sadness", expressing " our closeness with French Catholics and with the Parisian population."

The cathedral was located at the centre of the French capital in the Middle Ages and its construction was completed in the mid-12th century after some 200 years of work. (Pic Instagrammed by @notredamedeparis)

During the French Revolution in the 18th century, the cathedral was vandalised in widespread anti-Catholic violence: its spire was dismantled, its treasures plundered and its large statues at the grand entrance doors destroyed. (Pic Instagrammed by Quentin)