Coordination underway over Egyptian artifacts at fire-hit museum in Brazil

CAIRO – 4 September 2018: The Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it is coordinating with the Egyptian Embassy in Brazil to check the status of Egyptian artifacts, which were put on display at a huge fire-hit museum in Rio de Janeiro.

In a statement, the ministry stressed Egypt's full support for Brazil and expressed its readiness to provide the Latin American country with cadres to renovate damaged monuments.

The ministry further described the damage to the museum's artifacts as "priceless".

A huge blaze engulfed the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro at about 7.30pm local time and raged into the night. There were no reports of injuries, but senior staff has described the loss to Brazilian science, history and culture as incalculable.