Researchers mourn destruction of Brazil’s National Museum

Researchers heartbroken by the almost complete destruction of Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro have blamed government cuts and warned further fires are almost inevitable.

“The scientific community is in shock,” said Mercedes Okumura, a lecturer at the museum until June. “However, given the dramatic cuts to the budget related to science, culture and heritage, we should not be very surprised.”

Millions of irreplaceable artefacts are thought to have been destroyed by the fire that gutted the building on 2 September.