Thick black smoke billowed above Paris on Monday after an RATP electric bus caught fire in the city centre, a Reuters witness said.
The fire started just after 4pm local time at Place Maubert and Saint-Germain Boulevard, close to Notre-Dame cathedral.
Police cordoned off the area as fire fighters put out the flames.
“Bus fire with heavy smoke in Place Maubert. The emergency services are responding, avoid the area,” French police tweeted.
The fire was successfully doused at 4.45pm local time.
The cause is yet to be established but there were reports of several loud bangs. It is not yet known if there were any injuries.
Whilst the fire itself was quickly tamed, the smoke it generated was seen from miles around.
Pictures and footage showed a column of thick black smoke rising over the Seine river, only a couple of hundred metres (yards) away from Paris's famous Notre-Dame cathedral, the roof of which was destroyed in a massive fire three years ago.
Footage posted to Twitter from the @BigBreakingNow handle showed people next to the cathedral react to the fumes, with curiosity rather than panic the prevailing mood.
From a more lofty position, @Cicek_Kahraman_ tweeted footage taken from the roof of the Pompidou centre.
While closer to the scene, @JPFOTOGRAFOSS showed the intensity of the blaze.
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
Scores
Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)