A correspondent of a global news agency captured the first moments of the inferno burning through the spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Patrick Galey, a correspondent with French news organization AFP, captured some pivotal early seconds of the blaze around 1 p.m. Since he posted the footage to his Twitter feed, it has been shared more than 47,000 times.

In the clip, the top of the French Gothic cathedral’s ornate spire can be seen tumbling as the flames take over. Orange, white and brown clouds of smoke swell from the height of the fire before the clip ends.

Several Twitter users were in awe and shock by what they witnessed from the clip.

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