CNA – A number of Easter Island’s iconic ‘Moai’ stone statues suffered irreparable damage after a wildfire swept through the island earlier this week, the island’s mayor told Reuters on Friday.
“It’s unquantifiable, unmeasurable, the damage there is, it’s irrecoverable,” said Pedro Edmunds, mayor of Easter Island, a territory of Chile. “Because what the fire does is heat the rock and the rock cracks.”
He said scientists are going to visit the island alongside park administrators to evaluate the extent of the damage and determine what can be done.
“I don’t know if there’s a solution for this,” Edmunds said.
A preliminary report released by Chile’s culture, arts and heritage ministry stated that a wildfire swept through more than 60 hectares and damaged an unknown number of the sacred Moai statues.
The report did not state a cause for the wildfire and said there would be further investigations into the fire and the damage it caused.
The Rano Raraku volcanic crater, which is in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site of the Rapa Nui National Park and where several statues are located, was severely damaged by the fire.
