The stunning scene was captured by Fernando Braga.
In a jaw-dropping moment, the 100-foot statue of Jesus Christ towering over Rio de Janeiro was hit by lightning. The stunning scene was captured during a flash storm which hit the coast of Brazil on Friday. The bolt of flash struck the head of the statue and turned the sculpture into a godly figure.
The stunning scene was captured by Fernando Braga, who shared the pictures on Instagram. "DIVINE LIGHTNING !!! IT'S FRIDAY!!! Recordings taken on February 10, 2023 at 6:55 PM (Christ) and 19:03 PM (Antenna) using NIKON D800 with 70-200mm f/2.8E at 70mm f/8 13" ISO 100," Mr Braga wrote in the caption of the post.
Take a look at the images below:
The mind-blowing pictures have gone viral on social media. While on Instagram they have garnered more than 63,000 likes, on Twitter, they have been viewed over 20 million times.
In the comment section, one user wrote, "At this point Zeus or Thor. Jokes apart, this is a quite recurrent event, being the highest point, it's just the luck of having someone doing photography at the right time." Another said, "Wow! Oh just WOW!"
A third user commented, "What a shot! Thanks for sharing." A fourth jokingly added, "Mom! Thor and Jesus are at it again!"
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Notably, the Christ the Redeemer statue is the largest depiction of Jesus in the world and stands more than 2,000 feet above Rio on top of Corcovado Hill. The statue, which was named one of the seven new wonders of the world in 2007, is made of 700 tonnes of reinforced concrete.
The sculpture has been struck by lightning in the past too. According to the BBC, back in 2014, a bolt of lightning damaged the thumb of the iconic figure, following which it underwent restoration work.