The Government of Brazil announced on Tuesday that it will implement a plan worth 25 million reais, equivalent to 6 million dollars, for projects aimed at improving the safety of museums, after the fire that originated in the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro.

The plan was discussed and approved at a meeting of President Michel Temer along with various members of his cabinet, where it was concluded, according to the information given by the president of the Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Dyogo Oliveira, that the plan will be channeled through this state institution.

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What caused the fire that destroyed the National Museum of Brazil in Rio?

The fire almost completely destroyed the main museum in Brazil and one of the largest collections of natural history in the region. The country's minister of culture spoke to the local press about two possible causes and said a reconstruction effort will be carried out.

Any disaster or accident is followed by questions about whether it could have been prevented and what caused it.

On Sunday, the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro was left in ruins after a fire ended almost completely with one of the largest collections of anthropology and natural history in the region.

Cristiana Serejo, deputy director of the museum, said on Monday in Brazilian media that the flames had consumed about 90% of the pieces of the place.

The first testimonies of those who worked at the museum - the largest and oldest in the country - suggest that more than one employee had already expressed concern about the lack of funds and the ruinous state of the facilities.

For its part, the Brazilian Minister of Culture, Sergio Leitão, describes the disaster as "an immeasurable tragedy" that "could have been avoided."

The fire began on Sunday night when the building (an old palace of the nineteenth century) was already closed to the daily visits of the public.

The Brazilian authorities did not delay in beginning to investigate the possible causes of a tragedy that devastated most of some 20 million articles of historical and cultural value, including the oldest human remains found in America.

Theories

The Minister of Culture spoke of two lines of research: the fall of a small hot air balloon and a short circuit, according to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

In Brazil, these balloons are called "baloes" and are used especially during the "juninas" holidays, a traditional celebration that takes place mid-year in some cities of the country.

Regarding the possible short circuit, this could have been generated in the audiovisual laboratory of the museum.

The minister said that when the fire brigade started it was no longer in the museum, but there were only four guards, who were slow to perceive the fire.

The "baloes", which rise when the air inside is heated by a small flame, look almost exactly like a regular hot air balloon, only they are smaller.

Fires caused by these balloons are not uncommon in Brazil.

In fact, in July of this year a pavilion of Riocentro (one of the most important exhibition centers in the city of Rio de Janeiro) was consumed by flames in an event that included these artifacts.

Something similar happened at the Olympic Velodrome in Rio in 2017.

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What did the museum contain?

Its 20 million artifacts include fossils, dinosaur bones and a 12,000-year-old skeleton of a woman known as "Luzia," the oldest person discovered in South America.

A highlight for many was the Bendegó meteorite, which weighed more than five tons and was discovered in the Minas Gerais region in the 18th century.

According to Serejo, the deputy director of the museum, the object survived the flames.

The building also housed artifacts that spanned the period from the arrival of the Portuguese (16th century) to the declaration of Brazil as a republic in 1889.

The ethnology collection had unique pieces from the pre-Columbian era and artifacts from indigenous cultures. The museum also housed several pieces from the Greco-Roman era and Egypt.

The museum was founded in 1818 with the aim of promoting scientific research by making its collection available to specialists.

The Minister of Culture of Brazil told the local press that a reconstruction effort will be made, although it is not known when.

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