Paris Ritz Hotel fire: Flames rip through top floor
A huge fire has broken out on the top floor of the Ritz Hotel in Paris and black smoke can be seen billowing from the building.
The hotel is famously where Princess Diana spent her last evening with Dodi Fayed on 30 August 1997 before they were killed in a car crash in the Pont d'Alma underpass.
The hotel is owned by Dodi's father, the Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed.
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The hotel, located in the Place Vendôme, is currently closed for a major renovation project and there are no guests staying there.
It was due to open in March after a three-year renovation costing a reported £200 million.
According to the BBC, about 60 firefighters and 15 fire engines were sent to the scene at around 6am local time on Tuesday morning.
A spokesman for the Paris fire brigade, Yvon Bot, told the Daily Telegraph: "The fire started on the seventh floor of the. No members of the public were present and there are no victims."
He said the surface area affected is "large," adding: "Our concern is to stop the fire spreading to the entire floor and the roof."
Pictures of the scene have been uploaded to Twitter by a number of witnesses:
Attention, ceci est une photo AFP d'un précédent incendie (qui a eu lieu en 2012) #Ritzpic.twitter.com/aX1ns7csrE
— Olivier Laffargue (@laffargue) January 19, 2016
FBleu1071: L'incendie du #Ritz, vu depuis la Concorde. Palace en travaux, pas de blessés. Evitez le secteur en voi... pic.twitter.com/ss0jXYr6cT
— FlashAlert (@Flash__Alert) January 19, 2016
Incendie en cours au #Ritz à #Paris. Les @PompiersParis sont sur place. (Photo @nemopussy1) pic.twitter.com/mow2umRtpQ
— Breaking3zero (@Breaking3zero) January 19, 2016
The Mirror reports that the hotel was opened in 1889 by Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz.
It was once home to Coco Chanel, and the hotel has a suite named after the designer.