RIO DE JANEIRO — A fire broke out Sunday night at the National Museum of Brazil, which is 200 years old and has more than 20 million items in its collection, the BBC reported.
Aerial video posted by the Brazilian television station Globo showed high flames and billowing smoke lighting up the night sky in Rio de Janeiro, The New York Times reported.
BREAKING: The National Museum of #Brazil in #Rio is completely consumed in fire. Founded in 1818, the museum is the holder of over 20 million items, including mummies, meteorites, insects, & fossils. So sad to see history in flames :(
— Justin Fleenor 🔁 (@JustinFleenor) September 3, 2018
Video from @g1 live feed#museunacional pic.twitter.com/eCm8G6gKwA
Brazil's president, Michel Temer, tweeted that it was "a sad day for all Brazilians."
The museum's collection includes Egyptian mummies, Greco-Roman artifacts, dinosaur fossils and the oldest human fossil from the region, called "Luzia," the Times reported.
The fire began around 7:30 p.m. and there were no injuries, the newspaper reported.
The museum was once the residence for the Portuguese royal family, the BBC reported.
The full extent of the damage is unknown, the BBC said.
Cox Media Group