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Fire ravages building near Paris opera house

Police in the French capital have advised people to avoid the Boulevard des Capucines, near Place de l'Opéra, after a building caught fire.

Published: 20 November 2021 13:07 CET
A large fire has broken out near Paris' Place de l'Opéra. Emergency services say to avoid the area.
A large fire has broken out near Paris' Place de l'Opéra (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

A large building has caught fire on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris’ 9th arrondissement. 

Images posted on social media show plumes of black smoke coming out of the old haussmanian building as fire engines attend to the blaze.

It is not yet clear what the cause of the fire was. 

French police have advised the public to stay away from the area to allow access for fire engines. 

We will be updating this story as we get more information. 

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FIRE

Situation ‘unstable’ at Copenhagen’s old stock exchange after fire

Three days after a fire which ravaged Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange broke out, emergency services said Friday that the situation was "unstable" due to equipment issues and a strong breeze.

Published: 19 April 2024 17:44 CEST
Situation 'unstable' at Copenhagen's old stock exchange after fire

In the morning, during work to dismantle the scaffolding surrounding the building, a crane’s cutters came loose for as of yet unknown reasons.

It is currently wedged between the scaffolding — put up for the renovation of the historic building that was ongoing — and what remains of the walls.

“It is affecting our efforts”, Tim Ole Simonsen, leader of the operation at the rescue services, told a press conference.

Coupled with the wind picking up, the incident, which has temporarily halted work on dismantling the scaffolding, has made the situation “unstable”.

“The wind is blowing harder and harder, and there are tarps over the scaffolding that can catch the wind,” Simonsen said.

He added that this increases the risks, in particular of further collapse of the burnt-out facade which started collapsing late Thursday afternoon.

Located close to the Christiansborg parliament and seat of government, the Borsen building was commissioned by King Christian IV and built between 1619 and 1640. It was the stock exchange until the 1970s.

The fire began Tuesday morning under the copper roof of the building, which was undergoing renovations ahead of its 400th anniversary.

The cause of the blaze was unknown and Copenhagen police said Wednesday that a major investigation had been launched.

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