‘Must act quickly’: Trump on fire at Paris’s 850-year-old Notre-Dame

The fire, which began in the early evening, sent flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the Paris sky as stunned Parisians and tourists watched on in sheer horror.

President Donald Trip took to Twitter to say that the colossal fire swept through the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on Monday was horrible.

Flames and smoke rise from Notre Dame cathedral as it burns in Paris on Monday, (AP)

First lady Melania Trump said it was heartbreaking to see the fire.

In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted, “My thoughts are with the people of France tonight and with the emergency services who are fighting the terrible blaze at Notre-Dame cathedral.”.

The fire caused a spire to collapse and raised fears over the future of the nearly millenium old building and its precious artworks.

The fire, which began in the early evening, sent flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the Paris sky as stunned Parisians and tourists watched on in sheer horror.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately confirmed but the cathedral had been undergoing intense restoration work to help the 850-year-old gothic masterpiece better deal with the tests of time.

(With AFP inputs)