巴黎火灾，已排除人为犯罪可能

A BADLY stubbed-out cigarette or an electrical fault could have started the devastating fire that ripped through Notre-Dame cathedral in April, Paris prosecutors said yesterday, ruling out any criminal intent.

巴黎检方昨日表示，4月份发生在巴黎圣母院(Notre-Dame cathedral)的那场毁灭性大火，可能是一根烟头残留或电气故障引发的，排除了人为犯罪原因。

French investigators were examining many hypotheses “including a malfunctioning of the electrical system or a fire which started with a badly stubbed-out cigarette,” said a statement, indicating there was no evidence to back up any theory of “a criminal origin” to the fire.

声明称，法国调查人员调查了许多假设，“包括电气系统故障或一场由残留香烟引起的火灾”。声明指出，没有证据能证明这场火灾“犯罪原因”的任何理论。

The statement, signed by chief Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz, said the preliminary conclusions had been based on interviews with some 100 witnesses. But it emphasized that the investigation had still not clarified the actual cause of the fire.

巴黎首席检察官雷米·海茨(Remy Heitz)签署的声明称，初步结论是基于对约100名证人的采访得出的。但它强调，调查仍未澄清火灾的实际原因。

“Deeper investigations, using significant expertise, will now be undertaken,” it said.

声明称:“我们将利用专业知识进行更深入的调查。”

In April, a spokesman for scaffolding company Le Bras Freres which had been involved in restoration work admitted that workers had smoked on the site from time to time.

四月份，曾参与修复工作的脚手架公司的一位发言人承认，工人们经常在现场吸烟。