PARIS (WHDH) — Tyler Miller recorded from a distance as flames rose into the sky early Monday evening. The Lynn High School junior had just toured the Notre Dame Cathedral the day before.
Now, he was watching it be consumed by flames.
“It seemed small from where we were standing,” he said. “I thought it was. But within 5 minutes it ripped across the entire section of roof that we could see. It just immediately turned into a skeleton, pretty much.”
The massive fire at the historic Notre Dame Cathedral was reported Monday as many Massachusetts students were enjoying school vacation week in the region.
East Bridgewater senior McKenzie Eldredge says her class left the cathedral about an hour before the flames broke out.
“My heart broke,” she said. “I can’t even imagine the actual pain it must feel for someone who lives in this beautiful city to see such a relic go down. It hurts, honestly, to think about it.”
“It’s just an unbelievable loss,” said East Bridgewater science teacher Bill Silva. “We’re just trying to talk to the kids about it a little bit, just trying to put it into perspective of how old this place is.”
The students say this image is now seared into their minds.
“We’re living through history now,” Miller said. “This is going to be a huge part of the city from now on.”
Now the students are coming to grips with the fact that they might be some of the last people to tour the landmark for a long time.
“I absolutely treasured it,” Eldredge said. “Every moment. And my heart just goes out to everyone.”
Those who watched the cathedral burn say they were heartened by the response from Parisians to this tragedy and say they hope to return when the sun comes up to see the damage left behind.
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