Fire destroys historic church

A massive fire has destroyed the San Antonio De Padua Church in Chile, one of the country’s prominent historic landmarks.

Built during the Spanish conquest, it was the country’s first Catholic church and home to the region’s first Franciscan order. Local reports noted a smaller fire had been extinguished the day before. Eyewitness videos showed the church in the Chilean coastal province of Iquique burning down to ashes on October 11.

The Franciscan church, declared a national monument in October 1994 by the Chilean government, was mainly made of wood.

In a Facebook post, the church their “deep sadness” at the fire: “It is a sad day for our whole community, we give infinite thanks to all the people who helped in the fire that completely destroyed our church and convent. We also announce that our secretary and our sacristan who were there at the time are well.”

According to local media, despite the efforts of twelve firefighter units at the site, the church was completely ravaged. Both the secretary and sacristan present at the time were unharmed. Authorities of Tarapaca reported no fatalities and are currently investigating the source of the fire.

(Agencies; Picture Courtesy: YouTube screen grab)