A massive fire gutted the National Museum of Natural History in the heart of Delhi late on Monday, destroying many rare specimens and taxidermied animals.

As many as six fire officials were rushed to hospital after they inhaled excessive smoke even as 40 fire engines worked through the night to put out the blaze that broke out at 1:45 AM.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar visited the site and ordered an energy and fire audit of all the establishments under his ministry throughout the country.

"This is unfortunate... Museum of Natural History is a national heritage. Thousands of exhibits were there and thousands of people visit the museum everyday," he said, adding that officials were ascertaining the extent of the damage and ways to restore it.

The fire broke out on the top floor of the museum, located in FICCI Building in Mandi House, where some repair work was underway. The blaze quickly spread to all other floors of the building. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, a senior police official said.

The National Museum of Natural History was set up in 1972 to promote environmental awareness and sees as many as 1,000 visitors every day.

The museum had rare exhibits like herpetological specimen, dinosaurs and mounted animals as well as galleries on origin and evolution of life, conservation of nature, the food chain and overall flora and fauna. In fact, the Museum also has an extensive collection of films on wildlife, ecology, conservation and the environment in general and frequently holds screenings for the public.

Fire safety mechanism failed

The fire safety mechanism of the National Museum of Natural History in FICCI building was "not functioning" which could have controlled the fire, fire service officials said.

"The fire safety systems were there but they were not functioning at the time when we tried to operate them. Had they been working, the fire would have been curtailed at the earliest," Deputy Fire Chief Rajesh Panwar said.

"Had the fire system been working it would be easier to control the fire at the earliest time because we had to depend on our resources only," he said.



