On Easter Island, Chile, a fire caused “irreparable damage” to stone moai statues. This was announced by the municipality of Rapa Nui.
In total, almost 30 of the 386 statues on the island suffered from a natural fire.
The forest fire on the island started on October 4, and by the evening of October 5, it was extinguished. The fire spread over an area of 100 hectares and reached the inner slope of the extinct Rano Raraku volcano, where some of the statues are located.
The affected area was closed to tourists.