An iconic rock formation in the shape of a giant cobra head has disappeared after apparently falling into the sea.
The rock, on the coast of Bako National Park in Malaysia, had become a landmark for tourists visiting the area.
Its unique formation looked like the head of a giant cobra rearing up and about to strike as it rises out of the South China Sea.
But new video footage has revealed that the giant rock stack has crashed into the sea after thousands of years of being battered by waves wore its base away.
Sarawak Forestry Corporation confirmed that the Cobra Head sea stack had collapsed on 13th February after a park guide reported it gone.
The forestry corporation said on 14th February: “The collapse of this iconic sea stack was most probably caused by big waves experienced on site.
“The recent big waves were the final act of erosion which had been happening to this coast of Sarawak for millions of years.”
New video footage of the site shows pieces of shattered rock in the surf where the Cobra Head had once stood.
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Tour guide Paul Matthew is heard saying: “The sea stack is gone, really gone.”
He added: “We don’t know when it has fallen. Probably yesterday, today? But the icon of Bako is gone.”
Borneo Adventure owner Philip Yong told local media. “It was indeed an icon of Bako, but its collapse will not affect tourism in Bako in any way.
“This is because Bako itself is already the crown jewel of tourism in Sarawak.”
On its website, the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board describes the sea stack as “one of the country’s geological treasures.”
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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