Delhi's National Museum of Natural History Destroyed In Massive Fire Tuesday April 26,2016

A massive fire overnight has completely destroyed the iconic National Museum of Natural History in Delhi, destroying rare specimen of flora and fauna

35 fire fighters battled the flames for hours; seven were taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation; two are reported in critical condition.

The fire broke out at around 1.45 am on the top floor of the building that houses the museum, and quickly spread to all 6 floors
 A part of it also spread to another building in the complex - the FICCI Auditorium - which has not been damaged much.

The sprinklers and water pumps in the building failed to work; the fire was finally extinguished this morning at 5 am.

The museum functions under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar visited the site this morning and said, "This is tragic, the museum is a national treasure. The loss cannot be quantified." He has ordered a fire audit of all 34 museums across the country.

He also said the building belonged to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry or FICCI, and added, "They should conduct fire audit in order to restore damaged properties."