Fire breaks out at Paris' iconic Notre Dame cathedral

Photo grab courtesy video posted on Twitter by @MikeABCColumbia

A blaze broke out inside Paris' Notre Dame cathedral on Monday with local officials pressing a number of fire-tending vehicles into action.

The cathedral, constructed between the years 1160 AD and 1260 AD, is a major tourist attraction in Paris.

Local media reports as well as Reuters stated that tourists and locals in the vicinity were taken to safety almost immediately after the fire was first noticed. "A terrible fire is underway at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris," Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Twitter.

Smoke from the top of the cathedral could reportedly be seen from miles all around with many taking to social media to share videos and photos of the blaze.

So sad??.#NotreDame #paris pic.twitter.com/63tVpowMKv

— Axel (@nice_pebbles) April 15, 2019

#NotreDame burning fast - view from Monmartre :( pic.twitter.com/S4EQ6Mrexo

— Leigh (@MamaEmerson) April 15, 2019

In recent months, renovation work was undertaken on the medieval cathedral and some reports cited initial investigations as revealing that the fire could have possibly been started in one of the repair areas. The exact cause, however, is not yet known.