The sacred moais of Easter Island, damaged after a forest fire: "It is irrecoverable"

Several

, the iconic carved statues

, have been affected by the flames of a forest fire declared in this Polynesian territory of

, authorities confirm.

"Nearly 60 hectares were affected, including some

, undersecretary of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage

, has indicated through Twitter .

On

, some 3,500 km west of the American continent and in the middle of the

Ocean , 100 hectares have been grazed by flames since last Monday and the area of ​​the

volcano was the most affected, adds Pérez.

In that area it is estimated that there are several hundred moai within the

and the quarry from which the minerals with which they are sculpted are extracted.

"It is irrecoverable" the damage caused by the fire, assures

, mayor of Easter Island, to a local media.

The consequences of the event have not yet been fully assessed.

The fire happened three months after the island was reopened to world tourism on August 5 after two years closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Before the pandemic,

, whose main livelihood is tourism, received some

, on two daily flights.

But, with the arrival of Covid-19 in

, tourist activity was completely suspended.

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