Video: Weesp church tower collapses in fire

The top part of the Sint Laurentius church tower in Weesp collapsed in a fire on Tuesday night. The top 8 meters of the 25 meters high tower toppled, according to NU.nl. The church was built in 1876 and is a municipal monument.

Firefighters managed to get the fire under control around 10:45 p.m. ad extinguished it from outside in the following hours. Fighting the fire was troublesome as it was too high up for the fire truck ladder to reach. Firefighters sprayed the bottom of the tower with water to keep the fire from spreading.

So far there is no sign of anyone being injured. Several houses and a school building around the church, on the Herengracht in the center of the city, were evacuated. The residents of five houses could not return to their homes on Tuesday night and were put up in a hotel.

The cause of the fire is still unclear. Local media reports that work was being done in the church earlier on Tuesday. But the police could not confirm this to NU.

Daar ging de toren :( #weesp pic.twitter.com/v8flppFgDy

— Thomas Pleeging (@ThomasPleeging) November 8, 2016

https://twitter.com/ThomasPleeging/status/796080367967019013

Brand ! #kerk #weesp pic.twitter.com/pyXWlNmJN7

— Natascha (@natas948) November 8, 2016

Bijzondere klus in Weesp, kerktoren in brand! pic.twitter.com/fM5BvgTV4d

— André Siebeling (@ASiebeling) November 8, 2016