Image of the week : Malta's 'Azure Window' rock formation collapses into the sea

The Azure Window, a 50 metre high rock arch, at Dwejra Point cliffs on the west coast of the Maltese island of Gozo.

photo : Ugo Cei

From Reuters

A rock structure in the form of an arch which had featured in countless Malta tourism brochures collapsed into the sea on Wednesday in what Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described as a "heartbreaking event".

#Dwejra #AzureWindow site today picture by @Armed_Forces_MT (March 8, 2017)

— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM)

Prime Minister of Malta

The Azure Window in the Gozo island with the GeoGarage platform (UKHO map)

Geologists had long warned that the structure, on the north-western coast of the small island of Gozo, was eroding fast and the authorities had banned visitors from walking on top of it.

@gozosecrets Tweet March 8, 2017

The structure, known as the Azure Window because it arched over blue seas popular with divers, collapsed as Malta was hit by rough seas and stormy weather.

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Gozo resident Roger Chessell went to the coastline in the morning to take pictures.
"There was a big raging sea beneath the Azure Window," he told the Times of Malta newspaper. "Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud whoomph, throwing up a huge spray."

Prime Minister Muscat said in a Tweet that the famous Mediterranean landmark had always faced destruction because of natural corrosion. "That sad day has arrived," he wrote.

Links :

• BBC : Malta's Azure Window collapses into the sea
• The Telegraph : Malta's famous Azure Window rock formation has collapsed
• Times of Malta : Watch: The Azure Window is lost and gone forever
• WashingtonPost : ‘That sad day arrived’: Malta’s Azure Window, as seen on ‘Game of Thrones,’ collapses into sea