Fire ruins 20 million historical artifacts in Brazil’s 200 years old museum
The National Museum in Rio, Brazil which houses at least 20 million historical items was on Monday completely razed by fire.
The 200 years old Museu Nacional houses artifacts from Egypt, Greco-Roman art and some of the first fossils found in Brazil.
Many artifacts related to the country’s Independence Day were stored at the museum.
The fire started after it closed to the public on Sunday and raged into the night.
Firefighters were said to o not have enough water at first because two hydrants were dry.
“Water trucks were brought in and water used from a nearby lake,” Rio’s fire chief Colonel Roberto Robaday said.
Two of the museum’s vice-directors described the loss to Brazil’s science, history and culture as “incalculable”.
It was the biggest natural history museum in Latin America. We have invaluable collections. Collections that are over 100 years old,” Cristiana Serejo, one of the museum’s vice-directors, told the G1 news site.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the fire began but there were no casualties recorded.
“Today is a tragic day for the museology of our country,” he tweeted. “Two hundred years of work research and knowledge were lost,” Brazil’s President, Michel Temer, said in a tweet on Monday.
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