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A wildfire that has ravaged part of Easter Island has charred some of the monumental stone statues, called moai, for which the island is famous around the world, Chilean authorities said late Thursday evening.
The fire swept through the "Rapa Nui" national park, 3,500 km from the west coast of Chile, causing "irreparable" damage to the archaeological site.
"More than 100 ha (247 acres) have been affected in the Rano Raraku sector, which includes the wetland and the moai sector," the national park said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Thursday.
Carolina Perez, Chile's cultural heritage undersecretary, said the island had been engulfed in flames since Monday, in fact.
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'Rapa Nui', as it is indigenously named, has more than 1,000 stone statues, giant heads believed to have been first carved in the 13th century by the island's earliest inhabitants.
The area around the Rano Raraku volcano, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, would have been the most affected.
It is estimated that several hundred moai are found in this area.
Ariki Tepano, director of the Ma'u Henua community responsible for the management and maintenance of the park, described the damage as "irreparable".
"The moai are totally charred and you can see the effect of the fire on them," he said.
Easter Island Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa said he believed the fire was "not an accident", telling local radio station Radio Pauta that "all fires on 'Rapa Nui' are caused by human beings”.
“The damage caused by the fire is irreparable.
The cracking of an original and emblematic stone cannot be recovered, regardless of the millions of euros or dollars invested,” added the local councilor.
Researchers at Binghamton University found that moai statues on Easter Island were built near freshwater springs.
The park said a "shortage of volunteers" hampered officials' ability to bring the blaze under control.
The total amount of damage to the site has not yet been assessed.
The fire comes just three months after the island reopened to tourism on August 5, after two years of closure due to Covid-19.