Many Bronze Statues Collapsed Due To National Museum Fires

Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Culture, Hilmar Farid (Photo: DOK VOI/Diah Ayu)

JAKARTA - Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Hilmar Farid, said that many collections of bronze statues collapsed due to the fire at the National Museum or Elephant Museum that occurred on Saturday, September 16. "There are quite a lot of bronze statues that we saw collapsed, so they were slightly exposed to dust from the building," said Hllmar at the National Museum, Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, September 19. Currently, the process of removing historical objects affected by the fire is still being carried out. It is estimated that there are 817 collections affected by the incident. However, this figure cannot be ascertained and the number can increase. "We are still in the process of recovering, lifting from the affected room to a safe place. So, the number cannot be done now. Because there are also many pieces of pieces such as small clay and connected. We really need time," he said. It is known that the National Museum caught fire on Saturday, September 16. Acting Head of the Museum and Cultural Heritage (MCB) Ahmad Mahendra explained, as many as 817 collections and historical objects were also burned. “Collects and historical objects affected are collections made of bronze, ceramics, terakota, and wood as well as collections of miniatures and replicas of prehistoric objects found intact and lightly damaged to severe, ” Mahendra said some time ago. After the fire, several steps and actions have been taken, such as the formation of a cross-unit investigation and evacuation team, closure of six affected rooms, and limited closure of one affected room for further investigation. Based on information received by his party, the flames that scorched 6 rooms in Building A of the Indonesian National Museum came from behind Building A. "We emphasize that this fire did not start in the building. It is known that the fire came from behind Building A of the Indonesian National Museum," said Mahendra.

The initial suspicion of the fire, Mahendra said, was after a special team for handling the Indonesian National Museum unit received an initial report from the results of the police investigation process regarding the initial source of the fire. "The fire caused several rooms on the back of Building A to be affected," said Mahendra.