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Notre Dame's 200,000 Roof Bees Said To Have Survived Fire

Notre Dame's 200,000 Roof Bees Said To Have Survived Fire

It's nothing short of a miracle that the 200,000 bees living on the roof of the cathedral survived.

Emma Rosemurgey

Emma Rosemurgey

While the fire that tore apart the iconic Notre Dame building in France left many people devastated, we finally have some good news - as it's revealed the cathedral's 200,000 bees survived.

There were fears the hives full of bees that swarm the Paris building had been engulfed by the flames but bee keeper Nicholas Geant has revealed the bees have survived.

PA Images

"The bees are alive. Until this morning, I had no news," he told Metro. "At first I thought that the three hives had burned but I had no information. Then I saw from satellite images that this was not the case and then the cathedral spokesperson told me that they were going in and out of the hives."

Geant looks after the hives of bees which are kept on top of a sacristy that is joined onto the cathedral, but as soon as he heard about the fire, he assumed the worst.

Pexels

He was inundated with calls from concerned people, who were worried about the welfare of the bees.

However, Geant said that despite the fire, the species of bee found at Notre Dame are loyal, and would never abandon the queen bee or their hive.

Meanwhile, investigators believe that an electrical short circuit could be responsible for the horrifying fire.

PA Images

An official told the Associated Press that they still do not believe anything criminal caused the fire, and that at this stage, they are investigating whether an electrical short-circuit could be behind the blaze.

Speaking anonymously, the official said that the investigators do not have permission to work within the cathedral to search in the rubble for safety reasons.

The cathedral is still being consolidated with wooden planks to support some fragile parts of the wall, according to the source.

French president Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild the iconic cathedral within five years.

"We will rebuild Notre Dame even more beautifully and I want it to be completed in five years - we can do it," he said.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

Topics: Life News, Real