H5N1 massive sack ripped through Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum, i of Brazil's oldest, inwards what the nation's president says is a "tragic" loss of cognition in addition to heritage.
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| Drone thought of Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum, i of Brazil's oldest, a twenty-four hours after a massive sack ripped through the edifice [Credit: Mauro Pimentel/AFP] |
The museum's devastation caused a social media outcry in addition to students in addition to researchers gathered to demonstrate exterior its still-smoldering remains.
"It's non plenty simply to cry, it is necessary that the federal government, which has resources, helps the museum to reconstruct its history," the museum's manager Alexandre Keller said inwards front end of the devastated building.
The fire, the get of which remains unknown, broke out slow Dominicus at approximately 2230 GMT.
The majestic edifice -- which was closed to the populace when the sack started -- was swept past times flames equally plumes of smoke shot into the black sky, spell scores of firefighters battled to command the blaze.
Five hours afterward they had managed to smother much of the inferno that had torn through hundreds of rooms, but were withal working to extinguish it completely, according to an AFP lensman at the scene.
By morning time the extent of the loss was withal unclear -- although a sack subdivision spokesman told AFP at that spot were no reports of victims in addition to thus far.
Charred ruins
Firefighters were poised to move into the charred ruins to run into what mightiness hold upwards salvageable, the spokesman added, alarm that it would hold upwards dangerous.
"The facade is resistant, but a lot of cloth savage from the roof," he said. "We are going to continue amongst dandy care, to run into if nosotros tin preserve something."
The natural history in addition to anthropology museum -- founded inwards 1818 in addition to domicile to over 20 meg valuable pieces -- has suffered from funding cuts, forcing it to unopen some of its spaces to the public.
The caput of finance in addition to planning at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, on which the museum depends, described the devastation equally "a loss to the whole world."
"We are non going to pose upwards amongst this strangulation of populace resources anymore," Roberto Antonio Gambine Moreira told AFP.
"This is a sign of the lack of investment, a lack of resources, in addition to the consequences that brings," he said.
The museum's collection included fine art in addition to artifacts from Greco-Roman times in addition to Egypt, equally good equally the oldest human fossil establish inside today's Brazilian borders, known equally "Luzia."
It also housed the skeleton of a dinosaur establish inwards the Minas Gerais percentage along amongst the largest meteorite discovered inwards Brazil, which was named "Bendego" in addition to weighed 5.3 tons.
Pieces roofing a stream of nearly iv centuries -- from the arrival of the Portuguese inwards the 1500s until the proclamation of the commencement Brazilian democracy inwards 1889 -- were also stored there.
"This is a tragic twenty-four hours for Brazil," President Michel Temer said inwards a statement. "Two hundred years of move in addition to inquiry in addition to cognition are lost."
'Culture is grieving'
Brazil's government minister of culture, Sergio Sa Leitao, tweeted that "there volition hold upwards niggling or nada left of the palace in addition to the exhibits."
H5N1 deputy manager at the museum, Luiz Fernando Dias Duarte, voiced "profound discouragement in addition to immense anger" equally the treasured establishment burned, accusing Brazilian authorities of a "lack of attention."
He said the museum, a old palace that was i time the official residence of the Portuguese royal family, had never had necessary support.
The sack comes equally campaigning for October's critical presidential vote gets underway, i of the most uncertain Brazilian elections inwards decades.
Senator Lindbergh Farias of the country's leftist Workers' Party hitting out at the institution's lack of funding in addition to blamed it on spending cuts ordered past times the government.
'Lobotomy' of national memory
Sa Leitao, who inwards July 2017 became civilization government minister nether Temer -- a deeply unpopular center-right leader -- acknowledged that "the tragedy could take away maintain been avoided" but said "the problems of the National Museum take away maintain been piling upwards over time."
The government minister recalled that inwards 2015 nether the authorities of leftist Dilma Rousseff the museum had been closed for maintenance.
Leitao also said the sack struck simply after the South American country's National Development Bank had signed a sponsorship contract aimed at revitalization.
He said a reconstruction projection would hold upwards develop inwards motion, adding "this tragedy serves equally a lesson."
"Brazil needs to accept ameliorate aid of its cultural heritage in addition to the collections of its museums," he said.
Meanwhile Marina Silva, a old surround government minister who is running for president, called the blaze "equivalent to a lobotomy of the Brazilian memory."
The collection, she said, "contains objects that helped define the national identity -- in addition to are forthwith turning to ashes."
Brazil's commencement human, a 'priceless' loss from Rio's museum fire
The precious rock inwards the crown of the museum's collection of 20 meg valuable pieces was the 12,000-year-old fossil of the "first Brazilian" or Luzia equally she was named, establish inwards the southwestern Minas Gerais province inwards 1970.
"Luzia is a priceless loss for everyone interested inwards civilization," Paulo Knauss, manager at Brazil's national history museum, told AFP.
Using her skull, researchers at Britain's University of Manchester had managed to create a digital icon of her face, which was used equally the base of operations for a sculpture displayed inwards the museum that went upwards inwards smoke on Dominicus night.
"Luzia died inwards the fire," moaned Katia Bogea, president of the National Institute of Historic in addition to Artistic Heritage, equally quoted past times Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.
She said the tragedy had been coming, blaming major budget cuts for the irreparable cultural loss.
Knauss said the lack of funding was due to "a crisis of values" that had been blighting the province for many years.
"It's an old occupation but nosotros take away maintain to halt talking almost the past times in addition to intend almost the future... to inverse a procedure that shames us inwards the confront of hereafter generations," he said.
Considered the most of import natural history museum inwards Latin America, the National Museum, which celebrated its bicentenary inwards June, was peculiarly renowned for its paleontology collections.
The old regal palace housed a dinosaur skeleton also establish inwards Minas Gerais equally good equally 26,000 fossils of extinct species, including the famed saber-toothed tiger.
Source: AFP [September 03, 2018]
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