Moai stone statues damaged in fire on Easter Island

Moai monolithic stone statues have been damaged by a forest fire on Easter Island in Chile. This was reported on Friday, October 7, 3 by The Guardian.

According to the publication, the fire in the Rano Raraku volcano sector of the Rapa Nui National Park destroyed almost 60 hectares, the aif.ru website notes. It began on October 4, firefighters were able to take it under control only a day later. Fire success to cover the area where many moai are located.

The exact number of affected statues is still unknown. Teams of specialists are working on registration and diagnostics to estimate the exact number of moai and other objects affected by the fire, the 360 ​​TV channel notes.

It is noted that the composition of the rock from which the statues are made is affected by high temperatures. Because of this, cracks could form in the statues, violating their integrity.

There are 386 moai in Rapa Nui, of which 265 are located outside the volcano and 121 are on the inner slopes of the crater.

Easter Island, located in the Pacific Ocean, is considered the most remote inhabited island in the world. It is located 3514 km from the continental coast of Chile and 2075 km from the nearest inhabited place – Pitcairn Islands. It is famous for its moai, which are stone statues scattered throughout the island. Rapa Nui is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, reports REGNUM.

It is believed that these stone heads were carved in the 13th century by the indigenous inhabitants of the island, Gazeta.Ru reports.

On August 18, it became known that forest fires in the countries of the European Union (EU) destroyed at least 700 thousand hectares of vegetation over the summer of this year.

On August 12, the Daily Mail newspaper reported that the forest fires in France are comparable to the apocalypse. The natural disaster in the Gironde department near the city of Bordeaux has reached such proportions that fire brigades from six European countries were called in to fight it. The publication notes that about 10 thousand people were forced to leave their homes. In total, 7 thousand hectares of forest were affected by fires.