A pair of stone breasts miraculously survived a devastating lightning strike in Australia over the weekend.
According to Northern Territory News, the stony bosom was all that remained after a bolt of lightning shattered the torso of a Venus de Milo-inspired statue standing in a courtyard in Yarrawonga, Victoria.
Photo credit: Michael Franchi, Newspix/Rex USA
Local stonemason Tom Finlay told NT News that he witnessed the the lightning strike that destroyed most of his creation, which he had carved from porcelanite after being inspired by the famous statue of ancient Greece.
"There was a clap of thunder and the sculpture blew up like a rocket-launcher had hit it," he said, per NT News. "The lightning looked like a serpent. Everything disintegrated but the breasts -- all that's left is what's under her hips."
For the full story, go to NT News here.
The statue’s 66-pound stone breasts reportedly fell over 26 feet after the 5-foot figure, mounted on a steel-reinforced column, was struck. Incredibly, only one nipple on the brawny bust was said to have been damaged.
This is not the first time that a statue (or parts thereof) has survived a lightning strike. In 2008, Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue reportedly sustained some damage after a "forceful" lighting bolt crashed into it. The renowned landmark, however, was soon restored.