Delhi’s Natural History Museum has lost its entire collection in a fire after a blaze ripped through the upper part of the museum.

The flames, which tore through the area where the collection was housed, was brought under control by firefighters before it reached the ground floor museum offices, mezzanine and first floor.

The Indian museum’s artefacts had been subject of a move to a new state-of-the-art facility after a 2012 report raised concerns about maintenance.

“We are still not sure how the fire started but eyewitnesses say it started on the top of the building,” said a statement from Delhi’s fire service. “The water system in the building was not working, and we had to arrange for water to be brought from a nearby metro station – that was the reason there was so much damage. If the water was working we could have saved a lot more of the building.”

The museum, established in 1972, housed galleries with "herpetological specimens, preserved butterflies, and mounted specimens" of animals. Among its collection was an irreplaceable bone from a sauropod dinosaur, which was an estimated 160 million years old.

"This is a real loss. This loss cannot be counted in rupees. Some very old species of flora and fauna were there," said India’s environment minister Prakash Javadekar.

“I have asked for an energy and fire audit of all establishments of the ministry across the country.

“Plans will be made for how the museum is to be restored. First we have to assess the loss, then we can decide how to restore the museum.”