Source: Jakarta Globe
The National Museum in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, which contains hundreds of thousands of rare artifacts, suffered irreparable losses as a result of a devastating fire that destroyed the museum.
Central Jakarta Police Chief Kumar Uddin said: “The fire destroyed the museum building, which contains prehistoric artifacts, destroying at least 4 halls.” According to him, the fire was extinguished and there were no casualties.
A police officer explained, “Experts will provide us with a damage assessment, but the fire destroyed the exhibition halls and lobby and the ceiling collapsed. There were a lot of flammable materials in the museum.”
According to the museum’s website, it houses a collection of at least 190,000 historical artifacts, including archaeological finds, numismatic collections, ceramics, Hindu and Buddhist statues, and ethnographic objects.
One of the museum’s rarest exhibits is the Dipankara statue, which is considered the oldest bronze Buddhist statue in Indonesia.