A fire engulfed Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange, one of the Danish capital's most famous landmarks, and was brought under control after the flames toppled its spire.
The fire broke out in Denmark's 17th century Renaissance-style building on Tuesday morning, according to a report in Reuters.
Videos circulating on social media showed the flaming spire breaking in half as it tumbled down. The onlookers gasped in shock as the iconic dragon spire tumbled into the street below.
Denmark's culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said 400 years of Danish culture heritage had gone up in flames.
“Terrifying images from Borsen this morning. 400 years of Danish cultural heritage going up in flames,” Jakob Engel-Schmidt wrote in a post to X.
Danish Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Mikkelsen said a large part of the Stock Exchange has been badly damaged by fire, but many of the valuables have been saved. Though the building no longer hosted the stock exchange but it served as the headquarters of Chamber of Commerce.
The fire reminded of the scenes during the 2019 fire that engulfed the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
As per reports, several hundred pieces of art and artefacts including paintings, chandeliers and timepieces were saved by firefighters before the flames destroyed most of the interior.