In Photos: The Smoldering Remains of Brazil's National Museum

Alan Taylor
Sep 4, 2018
28 Photos
In Focus

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.”

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Flames engulf the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, on September 2, 2018. #

Leo Correa / AP

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People rescue items during a fire at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #

Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

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A fire blazes at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #

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The National Museum of Brazil burns on September 2, 2018, in Rio de Janeiro. #

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Firefighters work to douse the flames at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #

Leo Correa / AP

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Fire rages inside the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #

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People rescue items during the fire at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #

Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

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Firefighters try to extinguish the museum fire in Rio de Janeiro on September 2, 2018. #

Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

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Firefighting efforts at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018 #

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People rescue items from the museum during the fire on September 2, 2018. #

Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

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People watch as a fire burns at the National Museum of Brazil on September 2, 2018. #

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An 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 #

Mauro Pimentel / AFP / Getty

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A view of the burned-out National Museum of Brazil on September 3, 2018 #

Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

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Looking into the entrance of the National Museum after the fire, on September 3, 2018 #

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An aerial view of the damage to the National Museum on September 3, 2018 #

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An aerial view of the burned-out National Museum in Rio on September 3, 2018 #

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Looking 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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An aerial view of a burned-out room inside the National Museum of Brazil on September 3, 2018 #

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A firefighter stands at the entrance of the National Museum on September 3, 2018 #

Carl De Souza / AFP / Getty

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Researchers try to salvage artifacts from the debris a day after a massive fire ripped through the National Museum. #

Carl De Souza / AFP / Getty

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A 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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A National Museum worker carries away a piece rescued from the museum on September 3, 2018. #

Silvia Izquierdo / AP

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A view inside the burned-out museum on September 3, 2018. #

Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

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Museum staffers and firefighters remove a painting from the museum's debris on September 3, 2018. #

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A staff member reacts outside the National Museum of Brazil on September 3, 2018. #

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People 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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A 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. #

Daniel Ramalho / AFP / Getty

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A 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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