French Catholics, art historians and beekeepers are celebrating “miracles” amid the damage from a massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral.
The extent of the damage from Monday’s fire is still being assessed, but a rooftop colony of bees were found to have survived.
French beekeeping company Beeopic, which maintains hives at the historic cathedral, posted a picture of the surviving bees on Instagram, along with a confirmation from the site manager that “nos abeilles” (“our bees”) are still on site.
The Instagram caption included the hashtag “miracle.”
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Nos abeilles de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris sont toujours en vie !! Confirmation de la part des responsables du site !! ❤🐝❤ Notre-Dame's bees are still alive !! #Beeopic #apiculture #abeilles #ruches #NotreDame #Notredamedeparis #cathedrale #ambroise #saintambroise #stambroise #miracle
“Instead of killing them, the CO2 (from smoke) makes them drunk, puts them to sleep,” Notre Dame beekeeper Nicolas Geant told the Associated Press.
“It’s a big day. I am so relieved. I saw satellite photos that showed the three hives didn’t burn,” he added.
Another victory was announced for a different community: art historians. It was found that some of the artwork inside the cathedral suffered less damage than anticipated.
udith Kagan, who works for the French Culture Ministry, said that fire, soot and water didn’t reach inside cathedral walls, so some of the artwork inside wasn’t majorly damaged, according to the AP.
Those works have been transported to a secure location away from the cathedral, Kagan told the AP.