The fire engulfed the 200-year-old building and destroyed the vast majority of the more than 20 million artifacts stored inside. No was killed or hurt in the blaze. Some reports said that researchers ran into the burning building and brought back some artifacts when they were forced out by the rising flames.

The building was the victim of chronic underfunding and did not have a sprinkler system. Firefighters who arrived on the scene had to get water not from nearby hydrants, which were empty, but from a pond several yards away.

Five mummies were in the Hall of Pharaonic Artifacts, which contained many items belonging to Pedro I, the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. One of those mummies was in a still unopened sarcophagus. Another, known as "Princess Kherima," had her fingers and toes individually wrapped.

Many other Egyptian objects entered the collection in 1826, after a deposit of items belonging to Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni, who had run excavations at both Thebes (today's Luxor) and the Temple of Karnak.

Also lost in the blaze were parts of the skeleton remains of Luzia, who lived more than 11,000 years ago. Her remains were found in in Lapa Vermelha in 1975.

Another loss was the museum's insect collection, which contained 5 million specimens.