Haiti: Church in Laferrière National Park ravaged by fire

Text by: Amélie Baron Follow

In Haiti, one of the oldest churches in the country was ravaged by fire on the night of Sunday to Monday. Twenty kilometers from the second city of Cap-Haitien country, the royal chapel of Milot is a monument located in the heart of the historic park of the citadel Laferrière, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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From our correspondent in Port-au-Prince,

The large dome covered with asphalt tiles did not resist the flames: this dome about thirty meters in diameter completely collapsed during the fire.

Patrick Durandis, who heads the national heritage preservation institute, testifies to the immense loss.

" We were waiting for the firefighters who unfortunately could not intervene," he laments. Alas, it is an immense loss because it is a monument classified building of humanity. In this conjuncture, it is extremely difficult for us to have very clear ideas to intervene suitably on this building, especially since we are caught elsewhere by the epidemic of coronavirus. It's a lot. "

The director of the institute requires rigorous expertise to determine the origin of the fire: " For two days, Saturday and Sunday, there was no electricity at Milot, so it cannot be said that it is a short circuit. It has to be investigated. I find it hard to understand that the dome of the church caught fire precisely during this period. The park was closed precisely because of the coronavirus epidemic. "

If the cause of the fire remains to be determined, one thing is already certain for the director of Ispan: because classified as World Heritage by Unesco, the restoration of the church must be done identically and Haiti n does not have the necessary funds for this site.

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• Haiti
• Religion
• Unesco