Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer statue damaged by lightning strike

Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) statue has been damaged by a lightning strike.

The thumb on the right hand of the 125ft-statue was hit during a storm on Thursday night, officials said.

Officials from the Archdiocese of Rio, which manages the statue, told Brazilian media that repairs will be made to the statue soon.

Christ the Redeemer statue is visited by nearly two million people ever year.

In 2010, the statue underwent a $4 million restoration.

Thursday’s storm had one of the highest numbers of lightning strikes recorded in Brazil since the country began monitoring storms in 1999.

The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) told O Globo that the statue is struck by lightning on average between three and five times a year.

Christ the Redeemer was inaugurated on October 12, 1931, on top of Rio’s Mt Corcovado and is considered the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world.