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A chimney shattered the enigmatic statues of Easter Island, with some of the charring irreparable.
An unknown number of stone-carved statues were affected by the fire, Chile’s undersecretary of cultural heritage said.
Easter Island has about 1,000 megaliths, known as moai. They have large heads and are about four meters (13 feet) tall.
They were carved by a Polynesian tribe more than 500 years ago.
The fire, which started Monday, affected about 60 hectares (148 acres), tweeted cultural heritage leader Carolina Perez Dattari.
It was reportedly intentionally introduced and would focus on Easter Island’s Rano Raraku volcano, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Easter Island is located 3,500 km (2,174 miles) off the coast of Chile. It depends on tourism and reopened only 3 months ago after its closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The site is closed while a conservation team examines the extent of the damage.
The island’s mayor, Pedro Edmunds, told local media: “The damage caused through the chimney is repaired. “
There are around 1000 giant stone statues and sculptures on Easter Island, the largest of which weighs 74 and stands 10m tall.
The figures were carved by the indigenous Rapa Nui peoples between the 1400s and 1650s, and placed to form a ring around the island, facing inland.
They were figures of non-secular devotion to the Rapa Nui, embodying the spirit of a prominent ancestor. Each of them was regarded as the living embodiment of the person.