Fire rages in St Petersburg Cathedral
A fire raged in a 19th Century cathedral in St. Petersburg today, bringing down the main cupola on top of the stately church in Russia’s former Imperial capital.
The fire erupted in the early evening and burned through scaffolding beneath the soaring blue central dome of Trinity Cathedral, a duty officer at the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said.
The central dome collapsed and one of five smaller cupolas surrounding it was also destroyed by the fire, St. Petersburg emergency department spokeswoman Lyudmila Rubasova said.
Firefighters were trying to save the other three domes as emergency workers and church employees removed icons and other religious articles from the Russian Orthodox cathedral, which was built in 1835 and is considered an architectural monument.
