Thousands of rare and priceless works of art have been destroyed in a huge fire which destroyed Saudi Arabia's largest private museum, newspapers reported Tuesday.
The Abdulrauf Hasan Khalil museum contained about 13,500 Islamic, international and Saudi works of art, some dating back to the Stone Age, the Okaz daily quoted owners as saying.
The fire broke out Monday while employees were out for lunch and firefighters had battled it in vain, it added.
The damages have been estimated at an amount of 27 million dollars. Sabotage has been ruled out by the museum owners, named after the man who founded it 17 years ago, but authorities are investigating in the matter. The fire is believed to have been caused by a short circuit. (albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
