The red windmill atop the infamous Parisian cabaret club, the Moulin Rouge, has come crashing to the floor – and no one knows how.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, the blades of the iconic 19th-century building crashed down on Boulevard de Clichy, located southwest of Montmartre. The home of the can-can dance has left locals in disbelief, who can’t quite believe why the sails hit the ground just hours after Wednesday evening’s show.
The weather was reportedly not very windy at the location near the Moulin Rouge. The cabaret's technical teams reportedly check the windmill mechanism on a weekly basis and didn’t note any issues, a source told Agence France-Presse news agency.
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“We do not know what happened, it occurred between 2am and 3am, no one was hurt,” a spokesperson for the Moulin Rouge said, following the performance finishing at approximately 1.15am on Thursday morning. Three letters of the neon red ‘Moulin Rouge’ sign have also fallen off.
Jean-Victor Clerico, the director of the cabaret, said there was no sign of "foul play", adding the cause was likely a "technical problem". Images and footage have been circulating on social media showing the rotor blades lying on the street below, with some contorted out of shape.
The windmill has since been secured against the building’s façade and covered up by green tarpaulin. There is no risk of further collapse, according to Paris firefighters.
It comes just months before Paris hosts the Olympics and Paralympic games. The Moulin Rouge is one of the most popular landmarks in Paris. The venue has been a focal point of the city's nightlife for more than a century.
The only other serious incident the Moulin Rouge has seen was a fire that started during construction work in 1915, which ended in the original building burning to the ground.