Notre-Dame: Family in viral photo found after search Published duration 18 April 2019 Related Topics Notre-Dame fire

image copyright Brooke Windsor image caption Brooke Windsor says she took the photo shortly before fire broke out at Notre-Dame cathedral

A family pictured outside Notre-Dame cathedral minutes before the fire erupted has been found after a viral search.

Brooke Windsor, 23, says the father and child she photographed about an hour before the blaze have come forward.

Her photo, showing them playing in front of the 850-year-old landmark, was shared widely on Twitter.

She told the BBC she wanted to share the "memory" with them, prompting an international hunt.

Confirming they had been found, Ms Windsor tweeted: "The search is over! The photo has reached the dad and family."

The man and his family, Ms Windsor says, do not wish to be identified.

Instead, Ms Windsor says he wrote a message to her, which reads: "Thanks again for that beautiful photo, we will find a special place for it."

Ms Windsor's tweet was shared more than 240,000 times and liked 467,000 times, with people across the world joining the hunt to find them.

Her poignant photo was described as "historic" and a "special moment in time" by Twitter users as the extent of the damage to Notre-Dame shocked the world.