Fire at Brazil's national museum causes 'incalculable loss'

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A massive fire raced through Brazil's 200-year-old National Museum in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, significantly damaging its collection of more than 20 million items that range from archaeological finds to historical memorabilia.

The fire broke out around 7:30 p.m. Sunday local time (2230 GMT) when the museum was closed to the public.

People watch as blazes engulf the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil on Sept. 2, 2018. /VCG photo

The museum press service reported no injuries, saying all the four security guards fled the fire.

The museum said all its collection might be destroyed and the whole building might collapse. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Authorities respond to the fire that engulfed the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, September 2, 2018. /VCG photo

The three-story building was founded in 1818 and used to be the official residence of Portuguese and Brazilian royal families.

Its collection included art and artifacts from Greco-Roman times and Egypt, as well as the oldest human fossil found within contemporary Brazilian borders, known as "Luzia."

The museum also housed the skeleton of a dinosaur found in the Minas Gerais region along with the largest meteorite discovered in Brazil. With a weight of 5.3 tons, it was named "Bendego".

Screenshot of Brazilian President Michel Temer's official Twitter account.

The destruction of the building was an "incalculable loss for Brazil," President Michel Temer said in a statement.

"Two hundred years of work, research and knowledge were lost."

The museum had suffered from years of neglect under numerous governments, the institution's vice-director told the Globo TV network on Sunday night.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters