Notre Dame 'could collapse completely' if winds in Paris reach 55mph after devastating blaze, engineers warn
- Collapse of Paris cathedral's vaults in the fire has severely damaged structure
- Mechanical engineer Paolo Vannucci says 55mph winds could see walls fall in
- Spire, destroyed in fire, also helped stability of the walls and needs to be rebuilt
Notre Dame is structurally unsafe and could collapse if winds in Paris reach 55mph, a new report has claimed.
The world mourned after the iconic cathedral caught fire on the evening of April 15.
More than 400 firefighters battled the flames, which quickly spread along the roof structure, causing burning timbers to collapse onto the ceiling of the vault below.
But initial assessment of the damage by engineers reveals the vault damage has weakened the walls, which could fall in if weather conditions are poor enough.
Notre Dame (pictured on May 23 after the fire that destroyed the spire and large parts of the roof) is structurally unsafe and could collapse if winds in Paris reach 55mph, a new report by engineers has claimed
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Paolo Vannucci, a mechanical engineer at the University of Versailles claims the entire building could collapse if winds reach 55mph.
Before the fire, the stone structure was strong enough to cope with gusts of 136mph, reports the Arts Newspaper.
But the instability of the vaults has sparked major concern among experts that President Emmanuel Macron's five-year target to restore Notre Dame could take too long.
The spire, which was completely destroyed in the flames, also provided extra strength to the rest of the building, which it now has to without, Mr Vannucci added.
He stressed that strengthening and restoring the structural system of the cathedral should be the priority in the re-building process, which is being funded by multi-million pound donations from businessman and philanthropists.
A graphic shows how the fire took hold of the world-famous Notre Dame cathedral in Paris
On May 10 the French Parliament, the Assemblee Nationale, passed special legislation about the reconstruction of Notre Dame. It is due to be passed by the Senate on May 27.
Architect and former senior official at UNESCO Francesco Bandarin claims the bill does not address all the technical issues but will create a public body to oversee the process.
The blaze that shocked the world broke out just before 7pm local time in a roof area of the Paris monument undergoing around £6million of renovations.
The flames sent the cathedral's iconic spire crashing to the ground and damaged large parts of the roof.
As darkness fell on Paris on the evening of the fire the cathedral was illuminated by the flames still burning in the roof as firefighters battled on against the inferno
At around 3am local time, Paris fire brigade chief Jean-Claude Gallet said: 'We can consider that the main structure of Notre-Dame has been saved and preserved as well as the two towers.'
One fireman was severely injured tackling the blaze, but no fatalities were reported. The building – and the entire Ile de la Cite island it occupies in the centre of the French capital – were successfully evacuated as the seriousness of the fire became clear.
As well as the historic stricture, the cathedral was home to dozens of priceless artefacts, including the reputed Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus during his crucifixion.
A human chain of emergency service workers carried it and many other items to safety.
A shard of the cathedral's spire plummets through the air as it collapsed earlier after the fire burned through its foundations on April 15
