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Breaking News

Largest Gothic Cathedral in World Now Up in Flames

Aired December 18, 2001 - 08:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We've got some breaking news to share with you again -- a quick update on that fire that continues to burn in Manhattan's upper West Side. The St. John the Divine, which is considered the largest cathedral -- gothic cathedral in the world is now up in flames. It is being called a five-alarm fire. It now appears as though part of the roof of the cathedral has caved in.

There are hundreds of firefighters on the scene right now. To our knowledge, no one has been injured. Interestingly enough, this cathedral has been under construction for about 100 years now. The first stone was laid back in 1892 with a renovation construction process continuing after that.

So that is what the cathedral looks like at this hour. It is being called a five-alarm fire. And about the only thing we can confirm is that it appears as though part of the roof of the cathedral has collapsed.

Once again, there are no reports of any injuries, but as you know in a situation like that, that could change pretty quickly. So as soon as we have more information coming in from the fire department, we will bring it to you live.

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