Rio's 200-year old National Museum hit by massive fire

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Rio's 200-year old National Museum hit by massive fire

 

A policeman clears the area during a fire at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 2, 2018. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

 

BRASILIA (Reuters) - A 200-year-old museum in Rio de Janeiro was hit on Sunday by a massive fire, images from television station Globo showed, threatening its collection of more than 20 million items ranging from archaeological findings to historical memorabilia.

 

According to Globo's website, there was no information yet on potential deaths, injuries, cause of the fire or extent of damage at Rio's Museu Nacional.

 

The fire broke out after visiting hours and was still raging and appeared to be growing Sunday night.

 

Representatives from the fire department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The museum, which is tied to the Rio de Janeiro federal university and the Education Ministry, was founded in 1818. It houses several landmark collections including Egyptian artefacts and the oldest human fossil found in Brazil.

 

(Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bill Trott)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-03

[pegman]

Too bad, there was likely many irreplaceable national treasures lost.

[kamahele]

All that money for the Olympics and the World Cup and none for a sprinkler system in their national museum. This is a national tragedy for sure.

[Tug]

Very sad a loss to all hopefully other country’s will take note and protect their antiques 

[bendejo]

Were they insured? 

 

 

[Stargeezr]

Corruption, alive and well. 200 year old building and no sprinklers. Shame on the government.