It is feared that a fire raging at the 200-year-old Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has caused 'incalculable' losses of historic artefacts and objects.

The fire began for an as yet unknown reason on Sunday, soon after the museum had closed to the public. It continued well into the night, despite efforts by firefighters to contain the flames.

The historic museum is one of the leading scientific institutions in South America and housed more than 20 million items – including "Luzia", a 12,000-year-old skeleton of a woman, the oldest human remains ever found in the Americas.

Entire galleries were also dedicated to priceless artefacts from Egypt and the museum also housed a large European art collection and a palaeontology department.

In a statement, two vice chancellors of the institution said the losses could be 'beyond calculation'.

The museum celebrated its 200th anniversary this year.

“It is an unimaginable disaster. It is 200 years of Brazil's heritage and 200 years of memory," said Luiz Duarte, one of the museum's vice-directors, local news channel TV Globo.

"It's 200 years of science, culture and education.”

It is the second devastating fire to hit Brazil's museums in recent years. In 2015, a blaze ripped through the Museum of the Portuguese Language (Museu da Língua Portuguesa) in São Paulo – one of South America’s most popular museums – causing widespread damage and the death of a firefighter.