Fire breaks out at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque at the same time as Notre-Dame Cathedral fire

The fire, small in intensity, broke out at a guard’s booth in the courtyard at the flashpoint Jerusalem holy site on Monday evening around the same time as Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral burned.

Image: Twitter/ tweeted by @envirosec

New Delhi: A  fire broke at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa  mosque compound in Jerusalem, but was soon extinguished and the holy site remains open, news agency AFP reported citing authorities.  The accident took place at a time when massive fire in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has the world gripped in shock. The fire, small in intensity, broke out at a guard’s booth in the courtyard at the flashpoint Jerusalem holy site. As per the agency, the blaze broke out on Monday evening around the same time as Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral burned. The fire was "quickly extinguished", Israeli police said, adding the cause was being investigated. The Waqf religious organisation which oversees the site said the fire burned a guard's room above what is known as the Marwani prayer room. It said the fire was caused by youths playing with fire, without providing further details. The Jerusalem compound is holy to both Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It is considered the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest in Judaism. On Monday, the historic holy site Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was engulfed by a colossal fire that burned for about 15 hours after it was first reported. The fire ended up charring the famed monument’s spire causing it to crash to the ground and wiping out centuries of heritage.