Flames engulf the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil on Sunday, in Rio de Janeiro. (Leo Correa/Associated Press)RIO DE JANEIRO — 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. Connected to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the museum has expositions that include anthropology, archaeology and paleontology, among others.

Source: Washington Post September 03, 2018 00:47 UTC