NEW DELHI -- The massive fire that gutted the National Museum of Natural History in the capital early Tuesday morning has destroyed most of the fossils and skeletal remains of rare and extinct species. Though no one besides the firefighters or structural engineers have been allowed inside the building yet, which has been declared unstable and unsafe by the local civic agency, the loss of the museum's exhibits is believed to be irreplaceable.
In some photos released by the Delhi Fire Services, which fought for several hours on Tuesday to douse the flames, the horror of the tragedy is evident. While 57 fire tenders were pressed into service yesterday to stop the fire that spread over the seven-storey building, lack of functioning fire safety devices inside the building, like the sprinkler system, made the task even more daunting. Seven fire fighters had to be hospitalised for excessive smoke inhalation.
Photo courtesy Delhi Fire Services.
The fire, that started on the sixth floor, quickly spread to the floors underneath, melting concrete and feeding on museum exhibits. Initial fire fighters recorded the temperature inside the building to be 800 degrees celsius.
Photo courtesy Delhi Fire Services.
It burned through the concrete, exposing the iron girders and making the building structurally unsafe. Now, scaffolding has been placed outside the building as it is unstable.
Photo courtesy Delhi Fire Services.
The galleries on the three floors of the building have been destroyed, burning most things to cinder. Only some broken pieces of some of the exhibits remain.
Photo courtesy Delhi Fire Services.
Below is a video recorded by the firefighters inside the museum building: