Watch: Brazil's National Museum in Rio engulfed by fire

  • 6 years ago
A massive fire tore through a 200-year-old museum in Rio de Janeiro late Sunday, lighting up the night and sending large plumes of smoke into the air. Firefighters worked to put out the blaze at the esteemed National Museum in northern Rio, which houses artefacts from Egypt, Greco-Roman art and some of the first fossils found in Brazil. In a statement, the museum said the blaze began around 7:30 p.m local time. There were no reported injuries and the fire began after it had closed to the public, said the statement. It wasn't immediately clear how the fire began.