By Chris Dyer For Dailymail.com
Published: 17:27 BST, 17 April 2019 | Updated: 17:29 BST, 17 April 2019
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A group of New Jersey children toured the doomed Notre Dame cathedral moments before a blaze engulfed the medieval building.
A teacher chaperoning the schoolers even reportedly smelt smoke during their visit.
The children from the Leonia public schools group left the 850-year-old cathedral 'a few minutes' before the huge inferno destroyed the roof and ancient spire.
The blaze erupted in the UNESCO world heritage landmark in the French capital on Monday, sending its spire and roof crashing to the ground as flames and clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.
The schoolchildren from New Jersey had left Notre Dame in central Paris moments before it caught fire
One teacher who was on the school visit reportedly smelt smoke inside the cathedral but 'thought nothing of it'
The fire, which at one point threatened the entire edifice, was brought under control early on Tuesday about nine hours after it broke out.
While inside Notre Dame, one of the teachers even thought a smell of
