Students and National Museum employees protest outside the institution after it was gutted by an overnight fire in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. Recriminations flew over who was responsible for the loss of at least part of Latin America’s largest archive of historical artifacts, objects and documents. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Forensic investigators and researchers awaited access Tuesday to the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, gutted in a fire, to find out how the blaze began and what remains of the 20 million artifacts that made the museum one of the most important in Latin America.
After a fire tore through the museum Sunday, engineers were doing tests on the structure to make sure it wouldn’t collapse. Authorities had expressed concern Monday that internal walls and parts of the roof were weak.
A meteorite on exhibit is seen inside the entrance of the National Museum after an overnight fire in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. Firefighters dug through the burned-out hulk of Brazil’s National Museum on Monday, a day after fire gutted the building, as the country mourned the irreplaceable treasures lost and pointed fingers over who was to blame. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The museum held Latin America’s largest collection of historical and scientific artifacts, and officials suggested that the damage could be catastrophic, with one official telling a Brazilian news outlet that as much as 90 percent may have been destroyed.
The cause of the fire was not known. Federal police will investigate since the museum was part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. But protesters, commentators and museum directors themselves said years of government neglect had left the museum so underfunded that its staff had turn to crowdfunding sites to open exhibitions. In another example of struggling public services, firefighters initially struggled to contain it because the hydrants closest to the museum did not work. Instead, trucks had to gather water from a nearby lake.
Firefighters and museum personnel carry away a burnt painting from the National Museum after an overnight fire in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. A huge fire engulfed Brazil’s 200-year-old museum, lighting up the night sky with towering flames as firefighters and museum workers raced to save historical relics from the blaze. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Roberto Leher, rector of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said it was well known that the building was vulnerable to fire and in need of extensive repairs. In fact, the institution had recently secured approval for nearly $5 million for a planned renovation, including an upgrade of the fire-prevention system, but the money had not yet been disbursed.