Today sees the start of a delicate operation to remove the thicket of scaffolding that melted together on Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris during the blaze on 15 April last year.
Rope-access workers will be lowered into the charred wreckage to cut through the tubing, with a crane lifting freed sections away, France24 and AP report.
Throughout the summer, two teams of five workers will take it in turns to cut through the tangle of 40,000 fused metal sections that, together, weigh 200 tonnes.
In preparation for the work, teams have spent months shoring up the damaged cathedral with metal girders, so the warped scaffolding can be dismantled without the walls of the building collapsing.
Prior to the fire, the scaffolding had been erected to restore the cathedral’s spire, which toppled dramatically in the blaze.
The cathedral will be closed for several more years for the comprehensive restoration.
Image: Notre-Dame ablaze on 15 April last year (Baidax/CC BY-SA 4.0)
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there must be some stories to tell there