Blaze engulfs historic Copenhagen landmark building
The fire broke out just before 8 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), according to the Copenhagen Police, and no injuries had been reported by lunchtime.
STOCKHOLM: A fire broke out at a 400-year-old stock exchange building in the Danish capital of Copenhagen on Monday, sending its characteristic twisted spire tumbling to the ground.
The fire broke out just before 8 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), according to the Copenhagen Police, and no injuries had been reported by lunchtime.
However, the building, “Borsen,” is home to a precious art collection, and TV footage from Danish TV 2 News showed people carrying paintings out of the building to save them from the flames.
Dating back to 1625, Borsen now houses the Danish Chamber of Commerce, and the collapsed spire shaped as intertwined dragons’ tails was under renovation when the fire started.
“It was our Notre Dame,” Henrik Grage, a stonemason, told TV 2 News, referring to the fire that destroyed large parts of the Paris landmark almost to the day five years ago.
“It is a tragic day, not just for Copenhagen but also for Denmark,” Grage told TV 2 News.
-Xinhua
