{"id":9219,"date":"2017-03-08T13:43:46","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T13:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/maltas-azure-window-collapses-into-the-sea\/"},"modified":"2017-03-08T13:43:46","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T13:43:46","slug":"maltas-azure-window-collapses-into-the-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/maltas-azure-window-collapses-into-the-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Malta&#8217;s Azure Window collapses into the sea"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>                                  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The natural arch &#039;The Azure Window&#039; is seen at Dwejra Bay on May 20, 2014 in Dwejra\/Gozo, Malta\" src=\"http:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/B3BD\/production\/_95031064_gettyimages-494020627.jpg\"\/>Image copyright                  Getty Images<figcaption>Image caption                                      The natural arch Azure Window was one of Malta&#039;s most popular sites                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"caps\">Malta&#039;s famous Azure Window rock arch has collapsed into the sea after heavy storms.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the news was &quot;heartbreaking&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>A study in 2013 said that while erosion was inevitable, the structure was not in imminent danger of collapsing, the Times of Malta reports. <\/p>\n<p>The popular limestone arch on Gozo island was featured on the first episode of the HBO series Game of Thrones and several films.<\/p>\n<p>Officials had recently introduced signs and a fine to stop people from walking across the landmark but they were often ignored. <\/p>\n<p>Malta&#039;s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter: &quot;Reports commissioned over the years indicated that this landmark would be hard hit by unavoidable natural corrosion. That sad day arrived.&quot;<\/p>\n<figure>                                                                                                       Image copyright                  Twitter - @JosephMuscat_JM                                                    <\/figure>\n<p>Roger Chessell, from the village of Xaghra, told the Times of Malta: &quot;There was a big raging sea beneath the window. Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea.&quot; <\/p>\n<p>Strong gale force winds hit Malta on Tuesday, leading the Gozo Channel ferry company to suspend its services, the report adds.<\/p>\n<p>It also said that many residents went to the site to see that had happened.<\/p>\n<figure>                                                                                                       Image copyright                  Getty Images<figcaption>Image caption                                      The Azure Window was feature in several films                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure>                                                                                                       Image copyright                  Mario Cacciottolo<figcaption>Image caption                                      The less famous Wied il-Mielah window nearby still stands                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Azure Window was one of Malta&#039;s most famous landmarks. <\/p>\n<p>Tourists have been filmed jumping off the arch into the sea, dislodging clumps of rock in the process.<\/p>\n<p>For those mourning the loss, there is a second, less well-known arch at nearby Wied il-Mielah.<\/p>\n<p><a rel='nofollow' href=http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-39207196 target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image copyright Getty ImagesImage caption The natural arch Azure Window was one of Malta&#039;s most popular sites Malta&#039;s famous Azure Window rock arch has collapsed into the sea after heavy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}