Easter Island blaze chars famous Moai statues

A forest fire that tore through part of Easter Island has charred some of its fabled monumental carved stone figures, known as moai.

‘Nearly 60 hectares were affected, including some moai,’ cultural heritage undersecretary Carolina Perez said in a Twitter post.

On Easter Island, which lies some 3,500km off the west coast of Chile, 100 hectares have been destroyed by flames since Monday, Perez said.

The area around the Rano Raraku volcano — a UNESCO World Heritage site — was the most-affected.

An estimated several hundred moai are in that area, as well as in the quarry where the stone used to carve the sculptures was extracted.

‘The damage caused by the fire can’t be undone,’ mayor of Easter Island Pedro Edmunds said.

There is still no report on the total damage.

Before the pandemic, Easter Island — which depends on tourism — received about 160,000 visitors a year via two daily flights.

However, with the arrival of Covid-19 in Chile, tourist activity was completely suspended.

For more information, go to www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-07/easter-island-blaze-chars-famous-moai-statues/101512920