Centuries-old Torah not lost in Rio museum fire

Brazil's National Museum says that centuries-old Torah scrolls, considered to be some of Judaism's oldest documents, had been moved before a massive fire ravaged the building and gutted much of the largest collection of national history artifacts in Latin America.

Questions about the fate of the scrolls had swirled since Sunday night's fire at the museum, which used to be the home of Brazil's royal family.

The good news came as museum officials said they feared as much as 90 per cent of Latin America's largest collection of treasures might have been lost in the fire. Aerial photos of the main building showed only heaps of rubble and ashes in parts of the building where the roof collapsed.

Amid an ongoing investigation and unable to access much of the now destroyed museum, officials have been reluctant to give any account of how specific artifacts fared in the fire or disclose information on other material that may have been in other locations.

"The Torah is being kept in a safe place," according to a museum statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, adding it had been removed nearly two years ago. The statement did not say where it had been transferred.

A spokesperson at the Israeli Embassy in the capital Brasilia said it didn't have more information on the Torah, Judaism's holy book.

Brazilian scholars have said the scrolls originated in Yemen and possibly date back to the 13th century.

The museum's website says the nine scrolls, written in Hebrew, were acquired in the early 19th century by the country's last monarch, Dom Pedro II. The website, which had apparently not been updated, also said the scrolls were not part of an exhibit, but rather kept in a safe in the director's office.

Avraham Beuthner, from the Jewish organization Beit Lubavitch in Rio de Janeiro, told the AP that university officials told him the Torah was being housed at a university library near the museum. The museum is part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Beuthner said he had been fielding calls from Jews in Israel and several Latin American countries since the fire inquiring about the Torah.

"Thank God it's safe," he said, adding that university officials had promised to soon allow Jewish community leaders to see where the scrolls are being held.

On Tuesday, firefighters "found fragments of bones in a room where the museum kept many items, including skulls," said Cristiana Serejo, the museum's deputy director. "We still have to collect them and take them to the lab to know exactly what they are."

The collection is made up of about 20 million items. One of the most prized possessions is a skull called Luzia, which is among the oldest fossils ever found in the Americas.

Serejo told reporters Wednesday that several countries, including France and Germany, had offered help with recovery efforts and some rebuilding. She said that researchers could get into the museum as soon as next week, but it will depend on how fast federal police finish their investigation.

"We are in line to get in there," she said.

With the cause of the fire still under investigation, the disaster has led to a series of recriminations amid accusations that successive governments haven't sufficiently funded the museum, and it has raised concerns that other institutions might be at risk. Officials have said it was well known that the building was vulnerable to fire and in need of extensive repair.

On Wednesday, state firefighting officials said in a statement the museum didn't have certification that it was up to code — another indication of negligence.

"It's the responsibility of building administrators to comply with the laws," the statement read.

A UNESCO group of specialists in recovery and reconstruction are expected to arrive in Brazil next week, according Maria Edileuza Fontele Reis, the organization's Brazilian ambassador in Paris.

The group "has experience working with pieces of national heritage in areas of war, such as in Iraq, and areas impacted by fire," Fontele Reis told the AP in a phone interview.