Statue of Liberty collapses in strong storm; head, hand and torch shattered

GUAYAQUIL (BRAZIL): A 40-meter-tall Statue of Liberty has collapsed in a strong storm. The statue in the Brazilian city of Guayaquil was a replica of the Statue of Liberty. The impact of the fall shattered the statue's head. Footage of the incident has gone viral. The statue can be seen tilting to one side and then falling to the ground.

The statue that collapsed was located in the parking lot of the Havan retail megastore. Replica of the Statue of Liberty, around 114 feet tall, is a well-known brand symbol for Brazil's Havan department store chain, with similar statues placed outside many of their stores across the country. Officials say only the top of the statue is shattered and the rest was undamaged. They added that there were vehicles underneath the statue at the time of the accident, but no one was injured. The Havan company says the statue was installed when the store opened in 2020 and had the required technical responsibility certification and engineering approvals.

The weather service said winds were gusting up to 90 km/h in the area. The weather service had earlier warned of strong winds and rain. The company said it would investigate whether there were any other reasons behind the collapse of the statue besides climate change.

The storm in Guaiba affected several other areas. There were also hailstorms, uprooted trees and power outages in many places. Some streets were partially flooded due to heavy rain. The weather is expected to improve from Tuesday.