Fire Disaster -- Reflection on the Accident at the National Museum of Brazil

Experts from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said on the 18th that the National Museum of Brazil and its collection, which suffered fire at the beginning of this month, may take several years to repair.

Jos é Luis Pedersoli, an expert of the International Research Center for the Protection and Restoration of Cultural Relics under the jurisdiction of UNESCO, said that, with reference to similar experience in other countries, it may take up to 10 years to restore some collections of the Brazilian National Museum.

Pedersoli is a member of an expert group of UNESCO. The expert group went to the ruins of the National Museum of Brazil to check the disaster situation. Christina Menegazi, the leader of the expert group, said that it would take "months or even years" to rescue and excavate the collection in the museum. "In addition, it will take years to clean, preserve, archive and stabilize."

Pedersoli mentioned that a similar accident occurred in the western German city of Cologne. The Cologne City Archives collapsed in March 2009, and a large number of valuable historical documents and images were buried in the ruins. A German colleague told her that nearly ten years after the accident, only 20% of the total collections were restored and suitable for public exhibition.

A fire broke out at the National Museum of Brazil on the evening of the 2nd, with no casualties. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Cristiana Serero, deputy curator, said on the 4th that 90% of the collections of the largest natural history museum in Latin America may have been reduced to ashes in the fire.

This museum was once the official residence of the Portuguese royal family in Brazil, and was built by the order of King Joao VI of Portugal in 1818. The museum contains about 20 million historical relics from Brazil and other countries, including works of art from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Among many collections, the 12000 year old human fossil "Lucia" is the oldest human fossil found in the Americas so far, and can be called the treasure of the museum.

Public opinion in Brazil criticized the government for not providing enough funds for museum maintenance. Brazilian officials vowed to rebuild the museum. At present, many countries, including Germany, Italy, France, Canada and the United States, have extended their help. (Wang Yijun) [Xinhua News Agency Microfeature]

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