Massive fire engulfs Museum of Natural History in New Delhi

The Museum of Natural History in New Delhi caught on fire

On Tuesday morning, a massive fire broke out in New Delhi, leaving the Museum of Natural History in ruins.

The museum, which housed a 160 million-year-old rare dinosaur fossil and several stuffed animals by renowned Mysore taxidermists, is situated at the FICCI building in Mandi House has been completely gutted by fire.

Around 1:45 AM, the top floor of the museum was engulfed in flames and it spread across the lower floors over time. Although 40 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, it took firemen four hours to douse the fire. During the time, six firemen had to be admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for inhaling excessive smoke.

An examination of the incident has revealed that the property was rented and repair work was underway, causing the fire-safety systems to fail. But, the exact cause of the inferno is still unknown. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

Environment Minister Prakash Javdekar showed up at the scene for an inspection and expressed grief at the monumental loss of the museum’s unique artefacts. He has also asked for fire audits of the country’s remaining 34 museums.