A giant Christ statue in Brazil has started to crumble, sending a huge piece of concrete plunging 100 feet to the ground below.
Images show how part of the outstretched left arm of the Christ the Redeemer statue in the southern resort town of Barra Velha broke.
The statue is located atop the Morro do Cristo (Christ Hill) in central Barra Velha, which last underwent rehabilitation in February 2022.
A large piece of concrete from the statue’s underarm detached and fell to the ground, where it shattered into pieces.
Luckily, no one was standing at the base of the popular tourist attraction when the partial collapse happened on 14th March.
Following the incident, the local Civil Defence declared the area surrounding the 40-metre- (131-foot-) tall statue out of bounds.
At the time of reporting, officials were due to send an engineer to assess the condition of the monument.
Elton Cunha, director of the Civil Defence of Barra Velha, told local media: “Besides the detachment of concrete slabs, there are also several cracks, so we need a more in-depth assessment of the structure to make some sort of decision.”
Brazil boasts a number of Christ statues, most famously the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, which stands at 98 feet tall.
Other lofty Christ statues in the country are the 89-foot-tall Christ the King statue in Garanhuns and the 85-foot-tall Christ the King statue in Almada.
Brazil has the largest number of Catholics in the world.
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Central European News
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