"Thor and Yesus Fight?" Capturing a Fantastic Lightning Moment

Brazil Rio de Janeiro Landmark

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the giant Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was captured being struck by lightning, drawing widespread attention.

According to foreign media including the New York Post on the 14th (local time), photographer Fernando Braga shared on social media a photo taken on the 10th showing lightning striking directly on the head of the giant Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Braga skillfully captured the moment the lightning struck above the statue. As a result, it created a scene that looked as if light was radiating from the statue's head.

A lightning bolt strikes the head of the giant Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, creating a flash that appears to burst from the head.
[Photo by Instagram capture]

Braga said, "I captured a sacred lightning strike on Friday night," adding, "I pressed the shutter over 500 times during a long exposure of about three hours to get this shot. I am happy that my photo seems to have moved many people."

The photo went viral, receiving about 170,000 'likes' in just five days. Netizens reacted in unison to the purple beam of light above the statue's head, calling it mysterious. Comments included, "It looks like Thor and the statue are fighting," "It's truly fantastic enough to win a photography award," and "It's a solemn scene."

According to the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, the statue is struck by lightning between three to five times a year. In particular, in 2014, the right thumb of the statue was damaged and underwent restoration work.

Fortunately, there was no damage caused by the lightning this time, but local media reported that a storm hit the coastal city of Rio along with the lightning, causing some damage such as fallen trees.

Meanwhile, the Christ the Redeemer statue, a representative landmark of Rio de Janeiro, was erected on the 710-meter-high Corcovado Hill in October 1931 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of independence from Portugal. It stands 38 meters tall, 28 meters wide, and weighs 11,145 tons. It is known as the largest Art Deco style statue in the world.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.