A horror blaze has reduced Reikado Hall, a sacred Buddhist temple perched atop a mountain on Itsukushima island near Hiroshima, to ruins on Wednesday.
Video footage captured the 1,200-year-old structure being engulfed by fire, which originated from the temple's renowned "eternal flame" before spreading throughout the building.
Despite the rapid deployment of dozens of firefighters and aerial support from a helicopter, emergency crews were unable to prevent the World Heritage site from being destroyed.
The ancient hall was left as little more than a charred, blackened shell following the devastating blaze.
The temple's flame had reportedly burned without interruption since a Japanese monk first lit it in 806AD, making it one of the country's most significant religious sites.
This ancient fire is understood to have served as the inspiration for the Flame of Peace at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a memorial honouring the victims of the 1945 US nuclear bombing.
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That commemorative flame was created with the intention of burning continuously until the world's nuclear arsenals are completely eliminated.
Wednesday's destruction was not the first time Reikado Hall had suffered fire damage, with a previous blaze in 2005 causing significant harm to the structure.
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