This handout photo released by the municipality of Rapa Nui shows moai – stone statues of the Rapa Nui culture – damaged by fire in Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island, Chile.
A wildfire that has engulfed part of Easter Island has charred some of its legendary monumental carved stone figures known as moai, authorities said Thursday.
“Almost 60 hectares (148 acres) were affected, including some moai,” Carolina Perez, the deputy minister for cultural heritage, said on Twitter.
On Easter Island, which is about 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles) off Chile’s west coast, flames have destroyed 100 hectares since Monday, Perez said. The area around the Rano Raraku volcano, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the most affected.
An estimated several hundred moai are found in this area, as well as in the career where the stone used to carve the sculptures is mined.
“The damage caused by the fire is irreparable,” Pedro Edmunds, the mayor of Easter Island, told local media.
There is no information on total damage yet.
But the fire comes just three months after the island reopened to tourism on August 5 after a two-year closure due to Covid-19.
Before the pandemic, Easter Island, whose main livelihood is tourism, received about 160,000 visitors a year on two daily flights.
A handout photo from the municipality of Rapa Nui shows a fire in Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island, Chile.
But with the arrival of Covid-19 in Chile, tourism activities were completely suspended.
The island was inhabited by Polynesians for a long time until it was annexed by Chile in 1888.
© 2022 AFP
Citation: Easter Island Blaze Shows Famous Moai Statues (2022, October 7) Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://phys.org/news/2022-10-easter-island-blaze-chars-famous.html
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