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In pictures: Rio museum destroyed in huge blaze

News imageGetty Images A fire burns at the National Museum of Brazil on 2 September 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilGetty Images
The fire started on Sunday evening, after the building - a 19th-Century former royal palace - had closed for the day.

Brazil's national museum, a 200-year-old building that contained 20 million items in its collection, went up in flames on Sunday night.

News imageReuters A fire burns at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on 2 September 2018Reuters
The fire lit up the night sky, and sent plumes of smoke over the city of Rio de Janeiro.
News imageGetty Images A fire burns at the National Museum of Brazil on 2 September 2018 in Rio de JaneiroGetty Images
One of the largest anthropology and natural history collections in the Americas was almost totally destroyed in the blaze.
News imageAFP Firefighters work as a massive fire engulfs the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro on 2 September 2018AFP
The museum housed thousands of items related to the history of Brazil, as well as artefacts from Egypt, Greco-Roman art and some of the first fossils found in Brazil.
News imageReuters A fire blazes at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on 2 September 2018Reuters
No injuries have been reported.
News imageAFP/Getty Images An aerial photo of the gutted museumAFP/Getty Images
Aerial photos the next morning revealed the scale of the damage to the historic building.
News imageReuters A firefighter sprays water at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on 3 September 2018.Reuters
It is not known what caused the blaze, but officials have blamed lack of funding for the devastation.
News imageAFP Women react a day after a massive fire ripped through the museum on 3 September 2018AFP
The destruction of the museum has been described as a "cultural tragedy".
News imageEPA Demonstrators face the municipal guard in Rio de JaneiroEPA
Demonstrators later gathered in front of the museum to voice their anger at the authorities.

Pictures from Getty Images, AFP, Reuters and EPA