Huge fire at Brazil's 200-yr-old national museum; 20 million artifacts, dinosaur bones, mummies burn

The National Museum of Brazil, 200 years old, was subjected to massive fire

A huge fire broke out at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, the country's oldest scientific institution.

Firefighters are treating the fire in a building that has more than 20 million pieces in its collection.

It was not clear whether anyone was injured in a fire on Sunday.

Brazilian President michel temer said in his twitter "It is a sad day for all Brazilians. The value of our history can not be measured by the damage to the archaeological museum."

The museum houses thousands of articles on the history of Brazil and other countries.

The National Museum's press service told local reporters that four security staffers had been evacuated in time

A natural historical group of dinosaur bones and a human skeleton comprises more than 12,000 women - the oldest in the Americas.

Cristiana Cerezo told The Globe "There were a lot of items that could cause a fire, we had a plan to remove those substances from the museum, but unfortunately that happened"

The historical building, pictures going up in flames, also once served as the residence for the Portuguese Royal Family

In the past, staff had expressed concerns about funding cuts and the dilapidated state of the building.