Photos: Christ the Redeemer loses thumb tip to lightning in Rio

The Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro lost a thumb tip during a lightning storm Thursday. | Renata Brito / AP

Lightning flashes above the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio. | Yasuoshi Chiba / Getty Images

Lightning lights up the the sky over Sugar Loaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Jan.16. | Leo Correa / AP

The iconic statue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro has been damaged during a storm.

Officials said Friday that the right thumb was chipped, apparently by a lightning strike Thursday night. The middle finger of the right hand had been chipped during a storm last month.

The 125-foot Christ the Redeemer statue sits atop a steep mountain and is often hit by strikes.

The Archdiocese of Rio manages the statue. Father Omar Raposo tells Globo Radio that repairs will soon be made. He says the church has a stock of the same stone originally used to build the statue, which was erected in 1931.

“They say lightning does not strike the same spot twice. But with the Christ it does,” the priest said.

He’s not wrong. The statue is hit by lightning a few times each year and this storm produced at least 40,000 strikes in the area.

Antonio Lacerda / EFE (Via Sploid)

Associated Press