The Guardian Weekly

Stone heads ‘irreparabl­e’ after forest fire sweeps park

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A forest fire that tore through part of Easter Island has charred some of its monumental carved stone figures, authoritie­s have said. The blaze reportedly swept through the Rapa Nui national park, 3,500km off the west coast of Chile, causing “irreparabl­e” damage to the archaeolog­ical site. Rapa Nui has more than 1,000 moai or stone statues – giant heads that are believed to have first been carved in the 13th century by the island’s original inhabitant­s. The area around the Rano Raraku volcano, a Unesco world heritage site, was reportedly the most affected.

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