The China Mail - Fresh water leak adds to Louvre museum woes

The fire brigade had to be called overnight after a burst pipe in the Louvre's Denon wing, which houses some of the museum's most valuable exhibits including the Mona Lisa, according to a statement.

The room containing Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece was not damaged.

The leak affected room 707, which contains 15th- and 16th-century Italian works of art.

"Water reached a ceiling painted by Charles Meynier, dating from 1819. Firefighters intervened immediately, and the leak was stopped at 12:10 am (2310 GMT)," the statement from Louvre management said.

A message on the museum's website stated that "for reasons beyond our control, certain rooms are exceptionally closed".

The news came just a day after revelations that police had dismantled a "large-scale" ticket fraud network that allegedly includes two museum employees and several tour guides.

The Paris prosecutor's office estimates that the fraud, which involved Chinese tourists, could have resulted in losses of up to 10 million euros ($11.9 million) for the museum.

Police have seized around a million euros in cash and 486,000 euros from different bank accounts linked to the gang.

The investigation zeroed in on several guides with Chinese clients who were re-using tickets and entering the Louvre several times, while paying bribes to security staff to buy their compliance.

A water leak in late November damaged several hundred works in the Louvre's Egyptian department, while management had to shut a gallery housing ancient Greek ceramics in October because ceiling beams above it risked giving way.

Questions continue to abound for museum boss Laurence des Cars over the hugely embarrassing October 19 break-in at the Louvre, with thieves stealing crown jewels worth more than $100 million.

Two intruders used a truck-mounted extendable platform to access a gallery containing the jewels, slicing through a glass door with disk-cutters in front of startled visitors before grabbing eight priceless items.

Chief Louvre architect Francois Chatillon conceded in front of MPs in November that the building was "not in a good state".

N.Wan--ThChM