A chimney has broken the megalithic statues on Easter Island, called moai, charring some of the iconic stone figures beyond repair.
After the fire broke out on Monday, flames spread across Rapa Nui National Park, 3,500 km off the coast of Chile. More than a hundred hectares of land in the Rano Raraku domain were reportedly affected by the fire, adding where the moai statues reside.
An unknown number of Easter Island moai broke in the chimney that burst in Rapa Nui National Park on Monday.
An Ariki Tepano, director of the Ma’u Henua network in charge of the management and maintenance of Rapa Nui National Park, said the damage to the large stone heads is “irreparable. “
“The moai are completely charred and you can see the effect of fire on them,” Tepano said.
At present, it is known how many statues on Rapa Nui have been damaged. The domain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are about 1,000 statues on Easter Island. The largest moai weighs 86 tons and measures 10 meters high.
Megaliths are believed to have been built between 1400 and 1650 CE. They were created from stone by the indigenous Rapa Nui and were placed in a ring around the island, facing inland. Each stone statue represents a deceased ancestor.
Although commonly referred to as “Easter Island heads,” moai have full bodies, some of which have been covered with earth.
An unknown number of Easter Island moai broke in the chimney that burst in Rapa Nui National Park on Monday.
Easter Island Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa told a local broadcaster he believed the fire, which started around Easter Island’s Rano Raraku volcano, started intentionally. In Spanish, Edmunds Paoa said: “All fires on Rapa Nui are caused by human beings. “
“Repair the damage caused through the chimney,” he continued. “The cracking of an original and iconic stone is recovered, for many millions of euros or dollars that are invested in it. “
The fire on Easter Island would have affected one hundred hectares of land in the Rapa Nui National Park.
Rapa Nui said a “nationwide shortage of volunteers” made it difficult to extinguish the fire well.
Just three months ago, Easter Island reopened to tourism, following a closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The national park closed again to allow conservationists to read about the severity of the damage caused by the fire.