News #1 - Singapore's iconic Merlion damaged by lightning-radio
Reuters - Sunday, March 1
SINGAPORE, Feb 28 - Singapore's iconic Merlion statue, a popular tourist
attraction, was damaged by lightning on Saturday afternoon during a
thunderstorm, government radio reported. No one was hurt.
News radio station 938Live said the Merlion was struck by lightning between 4
and 5 pm local , causing parts of the statue to fall near a group of startled
visitors.
The 8.6 metre-tall Merlion has the head of a lion and the body and tail of a
fish, and sits at the mouth of the Singapore River near the central business
district.
The lion head symbolises Singapore's founding by an Indonesian prince who named
his new settlement after a lion he saw when he landed on the island. The body of
the fish represents Singapore's origins as a fishing village.
Singapore, or "Singapura", is derived from the Sanskrit words Singa.
Singapore's police could not be reached for comment while a spokeswoman for
Singapore's information ministry said she did not have any details about the
incident.
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s most famous tourism icon, the Merlion, reopened on
Wednesday. It started spouting water again around noon.
It had been closed for repair work for two and a half weeks to rectify damage on
the Merlion’s facade after it was struck by lightning on February 28.
The repair work will continue on the wave form at the base of the Merlion until
the end of March.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on March 9 that it was studying possible
lightning protection measures for the Merlion Park to prevent similar incidents
from happening.
The Merlion was designed and built as a sculpture and did not include a
lightning conductor.
STB added that there were no records of lightning damaging the national icon
since its inauguration 36 years ago on September 15, 1972.
A visitor to the park said: "Last week, I saw it was closed and I couldn’t see
anything. But this time, I saw the Merlion so I feel really happy."
Another said: "We’re very lucky the water started at noon — so we are just on
time."
News radio station 938Live said the Merlion was struck by lightning between 4
and 5 pm local , causing parts of the statue to fall near a group of startled
visitors.
The repair work will continue on the wave form at the base of the Merlion until
the end of March.