NEW DELHI — A fire swept through the National Museum of Natural History in New Delhi early Tuesday, spreading downward from the top floor and possibly destroying the 160-million-year-old bones of a dinosaur, local news outlets reported.

“This is a real loss, and we will assess the loss when the building is again handed over to us,’’ said Prakash Javadekar, the minister of environment and forests. Javadekar said the ministry, which oversees the museum, would carry out a fire and energy audit of all 34 of its museums in the country.

The building sustained major damage, and most of the museum’s exhibits were destroyed, said Rajesh Panwar, the deputy chief fire officer in New Delhi. They consisted primarily of taxidermied specimens and models of forests and other ecosystems in the three-story exhibition space.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire. It began around 2 a.m. in the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry building in central Delhi, which houses the museum, and was doused by 5 a.m.

Panwar said safety mechanisms in the building, including water pumps that would have allowed the firefighters to put out the flames sooner, had not functioned properly.

Buildings in India have long been plagued by aging infrastructure and lax safety standards. Last month, an overpass being built in Kolkata collapsed, killing at least 26 people and leading to a public outcry against the government for the lagging, hazardous project. This month, a building in the state of Kerala housing fireworks was hit by burning debris from a fireworks display at a local temple, leading to explosions that killed at least 106 people.

New York Times