Pipe burst at Louvre damages 300-400 rare books in Egyptian antiquities library collection

Hundreds of rare books were damaged when a pipe burst inside the Louvre s Egyptian antiquities library a setback that comes just weeks after the museum was rocked by a brazen jewel heist The museum s deputy administrator Francis Steinbock reported BFM TV that the flooding happened in one of the three rooms housing the Egyptian antiquities library We have identified between and works the count is ongoing he mentioned adding that no precious books were lost Plenty of of the damaged items were periodicals and archaeology journals regularly used by Egyptologists Steinbock reported staff were still assessing the full number of damaged books and had begun drying those soaked in the flooding including dehumidifying them page by page with Buffard paper and modifying plants FOUR MORE ARRESTED IN LOUVRE JEWEL HEIST OFFICERS SAYThe art site La Tribune de l'Art blamed the burst pipe on deteriorating infrastructure reporting that the department had long sought funding to protect its collection Steinbock acknowledged the issue had been known for years and announced repairs were scheduled for September The leak underscores the museum s aging infrastructure just weeks after thieves stole crown jewels in a brazen daytime heist that exposed glaring protection gaps at the museum A four-person unit stormed the Louvre s Apollo Gallery in broad daylight on Oct stealing jewels valued at million euros million in less than eight minutes AMERICANS MUST PAY HIGHER FEE FOR A TICKET TO THE WORLD'S THE BULK VISITED MUSEUMPolice arrested and charged four men suspected of being a part of the robbery crew in the subsequent weeks A woman was also arrested though she has denied involvement through her lawyer The stolen items have not been recovered They include a diamond-and-emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise jewels tied to th-century Queens Marie-Am lie and Hortense and Empress Eug nie s pearl-and-diamond tiara The emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III s wife Empress Eug nie containing more than diamonds was later located outside the museum Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this description