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BRAZIL-MUSEUM-FIRE
Fire engulfs National Museum, one of Brazil’s oldest
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A massive fire gutted the National
Museum in Rio de Janeiro, one of Brazil’s oldest, authorities said Sunday,
but no injuries were immediately reported.
The cause of the fire, which broke out around 2230 GMT, was not yet known,
according to local media.
Television footage showed the building engulfed by a raging blaze that
firefighters had not brought under control.
The museum was founded in 1818 by King Joao VI and is among Brazil’s most
important, with valuable national treasures inside.
“This is a tragic day for Brazil,” President Michel Temer said in a
statement. “Two hundred years of work and research and knowledge are lost.”
“This is a cultural tragedy,” the director of the National History Museum
said on Globo TV.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0819 hrs