Late on September 2, a fire tore through the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, burning for more than five hours and destroying or damaging countless irreplaceable artifacts, fossils, memorabilia, works of art, and more. The museum’s collection reportedly included more than 20 million items. The cause remains under investigation, and salvage efforts are under way, but the losses appear to be enormous. Protesters took to the streets denouncing government mismanagement, neglect, and budget cuts that they say have left the museum and other institutions vulnerable to devastating fires and other disasters. See also Ed Yong’s “What Was Lost in Brazil’s Devastating Museum Fire.”
In Photos: The Smoldering Remains of Brazil's National Museum
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Read moreFlames engulf the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, on September 2, 2018. #
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Read morePeople rescue items during a fire at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #
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Read moreA fire blazes at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #
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Read moreThe National Museum of Brazil burns on September 2, 2018, in Rio de Janeiro. #
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Read moreFirefighters work to douse the flames at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #
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Read moreFire rages inside the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #
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Read morePeople rescue items during the fire at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #
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Read moreFirefighters try to extinguish the museum fire in Rio de Janeiro on September 2, 2018. #
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Read moreFirefighting efforts at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018 #
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Read morePeople rescue items from the museum during the fire on September 2, 2018. #
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Read morePeople watch as a fire burns at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #
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Read moreAn aerial view of Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum, with the Maracanã Stadium in the background, on September 3, 2018, a day after a massive fire ripped through the building #
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Read moreA view of the burned-out National Museum of Brazil on September 3, 2018 #
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Read moreLooking into the entrance of the National Museum after the fire, on September 3, 2018 #
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Read moreAn aerial view of the damage to the National Museum on September 3, 2018 #
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Read moreAn aerial view of the burned-out National Museum in Rio on September 3, 2018 #
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Read moreLooking down into the shell of Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum, one day after a massive fire ripped through the building, on September 3, 2018 #
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Read moreAn aerial view of a burned-out room inside the National Museum of Brazil on September 3, 2018 #
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Read moreA firefighter stands at the entrance of the National Museum on September 3, 2018 #
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Read moreResearchers try to salvage artifacts from the debris a day after a massive fire ripped through the National Museum. #
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Read moreA meteorite on exhibit inside the National Museum is visible through a door after an overnight fire in Rio de Janeiro on September 3, 2018. #
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Read moreA National Museum worker carries away a piece rescued from the museum on September 3, 2018. #
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Read moreA view inside the burned-out museum on September 3, 2018. #
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Read moreMuseum staffers and firefighters remove a painting from the museum's debris on September 3, 2018. #
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Read moreA staff member reacts outside the National Museum of Brazil on September 3, 2018. #
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Read morePeople gather to demonstrate outside Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum, on September 3, 2018, a day after a massive fire ripped through the building. #
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Read moreA woman holds a sign reading "Freezing money for science, culture, and education, it's fire" during a protest against the Brazilian government on September 3, 2018, in Rio de Janeiro, following a massive fire that ripped through the National Museum. #
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Read moreA woman shouts slogans during a protest against the Brazilian government on September 3, 2018, after the fire that destroyed much of the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. #
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