The church in Montenach, a commune near the French border close to Sierck-les-Bains, was destroyed by a fire on Thursday.

Videos broadcast live on social media showed thick smoke, followed minutes later by flames several metres high, as the blaze ravaged the Saint-Cyriaque church. The roof and bell tower appeared to disappear into the immense fire within a matter of minutes.

Firefighters attended the scene with an aerial ladder, but the flames had already extensively damaged the wooden structure of the parish church. "A disaster, our children were due to get married there on Saturday," one internet user lamented.

According to Fabien Didier, Controller General and head of the Moselle fire service, emergency services were alerted at 1.19pm to a "vegetation fire near the church." Upon arrival, "they unfortunately observed smoke coming from the bell tower." Fanned by winds that reached gusts of 50 km/h on Thursday afternoon, "the fire spread rapidly to the entire roof of the church."

Firefighters then had to tackle the blaze on three fronts: extinguishing the main fire, evacuating artworks from inside the church, and bringing the vegetation fire under control. Approximately 60 firefighters attended the scene with some 40 emergency vehicles.

Efforts to extinguish the blaze are still ongoing and are expected to take time, as firefighters must ensure the building remains structurally sound. "We are still making progress inside, but the fire is still burning and there is smoke indoors," Didier said. No injuries were reported.