this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 11:00: from marseille to strasbourg to chartres, at 6:50 this evening cathedrals all over the countryjoined in to show solidarity with notre—dame. more footage of the damage inside the cathedral as firefighters who risked their lives spoke for the first time. translation: i went up into the towers. it was only when they got to the top that i saw how daunting it was. at some point we had an enormous noise, which must have been the by falling down. at least 28 tourists have been killed after their bus overturned on the portuguese island of madeira. most are thought to be german. a new law to stop under—18s viewing porn. adult websites will be forced

to verify people's age or risk being taken off line in the uk. an extraordinary night of football — seven goals in a thrilling champions league quarterfinal, as man city take on spurs. and at 11:30 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with laura hughes, political correspondent for the financial times, and deputy political editor of the daily express, sam lister. good evening. welcome to bbc news.

cathedral bells rung out across france at 6:50 this evening to mark the exact moment when a huge fire broke out at notre—dame cathedral in paris on monday. today, the paris fire brigade described for the first time how they saved the cathedral from collapse during a nine hour battle with the flames. 100 firefighters were tasked with saving the works of art and treasures from inside cathedral as the roof burned above them. lucy williamson is in paris and has this report. notre—dame today is a cathedral divided by the fire. marks of tragedy, surrounded by tranquillity. this video, given exclusively to the bbc, shows stained glass intact under a jagged hole where the roof used to be. polished pews lined up before piles of charred timber. that so much survived is perhaps extraordinary. the local mayor said there was a moment that night when fire crews told president macron they weren't sure if notre—dame could be saved. it's a very difficult site to attack.

they couldn't get there, up there, with their scales. the normal scales are not large, they're not tall enough. so they had to use other devices. they had to get into the building, they had to check the building was safe. they went in there and they did not have 100% certainty that they would be able to get down and get out. this is what firefighters faced that night. today, one of them spoke publicly for the first time. translation: i went up into the towers. it was only when i got to the top that i saw how daunting it was. it was extremely hot and we had to keep moving back, moving back. it was spreading very quickly. at some point, we heard an enormous noise which must have been the spire falling down. investigators have so far interviewed around 30 people. early reports suggest the fire began at the base of the cathedral‘s central spire, where a major restoration project was starting. the main contractor involved in the restoration work told us they were the only ones in the building on monday and had

been putting up scaffolding, not doing anything involving heat or sparks. they left at 5:50pm, he told us, turned off the electricity, and handed the keys to the caretaker. along the banks of the seine today, artists came to record a rare change in the city landscape. the prime minister has announced an international competition for architects to design the cathedral‘s new spire. at churches across france tonight, bells rang out in solidarity with notre—dame. the sound of continuity after a crisis that lets all of paris know they're not alone. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. a little earlier and spoke to heather newton, head of conservation at canterbury cathedral and a former head mason there. she told me it

would be a complex restoration project. i don't think they will have any problem in recruiting skills. i'm in, there are enormous numbers of people who are highly skilled in every discipline one would need for a project like that. you're going to need project managers, you're going to need engineers, you're going to need architects. consultants. there are very skilled craftsmen. is notjoss stone, it is timber, it is glass, it is metalwork, and textiles as well. as yet we have no idea of the damage that was caused to the interior of the cathedral and there will be losses there that will have to be replaced or at least conserved so that things that can be damaged can be put back into use and will be a record of what has happened to. are there techniques, materials, things that modern mason work can do that your forebears back that modern mason work can do that yourforebears back in that modern mason work can do that your forebears back in the 12th century, one of my favourite books

at school was the spire, by william golding, who captured the unbelievable skill of the masons of those days but they were doing it by hand with all the risks and terrible accidents that could happen. what are the advantages you have is a modern mason undertaking a restoration that is going to be incredibly challenging?” restoration that is going to be incredibly challenging? i think one of the principal things is to be able to understand the building. there are lots of techniques that can be employed to examine the building that are non— invasive. so that we can better understand what has been going on. but the modern mason still uses their brain, their eyes, and their hands to do the work. if all those things are functioning then you have got what it takes. yes, we have lots of lifting equipment and things like that, which assist, and there are modern saws so that, which assist, and there are modern saws so we can process that, which assist, and there are modern saws so we can process block more rapidly, but the fundamental principles of the task haven't

changed. you start with a big block of stone and you end up with a stone thatis of stone and you end up with a stone that is cut to a certain size and shape. and that will always be the case. that was an interview we conducted a little earlier with the head of conservation at canterbury cathedral in kent. in other news this evening, at least 28 people have died in a bus crash on the island of madeira. the bus, which was reported to be carrying german tourists, plunged off a road and overturned. there were around 50 people on board. the bus crashed just outside the capital city, funchal. it's feared pedestrians may also be among the dead. ben ando has more. the coach, which was carrying german holiday—makers, came to rest on its on its side after apparently coming off the road on a tight curve and rolling down the mountain. exactly how it happened isn't clear. the bus is badly damaged with most of its windows broken. it seems many of the victims were thrown onto the ground in the crash. local people quickly gathered, some assisting the emergency services as they helped injured survivors get clear of the wreckage.