Truck collides with sacred Easter Island monument, causing “incalculable” damage

Sunrise over Ahu Tongariki Moai in Easter Island, Chile

Easter Island’s mayor has called for motor restrictions to be put in place after a truck collided with a sacred stone monument.

A Chilean man has been charged with damaging the national monument, after a brake failure saw his truck hit a sacred ‘moai’ statue, causing “incalculable” damage to it and its platform, according to Chilean politician and Mayor of Easter Island Pedro Edmunds Paoa, as reported by Chilean newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaíso.

The statue is one of around 1,000 sacred ‘moai’ that dot Easter Island, which were built by the local Rapa Nui people and are believed by their creators to carry the spirits of prominent ancestors, and seen as living incarnations of their relatives.

“Everyone decided against establishing traffic rules when it came to vehicles on sacred sites but we, as a council, were talking about the dangers and knew very well what the rise in tourist and resident numbers could mean”, Edmunds Poa told El Mercurio.

“They didn’t listen to us and this is the result.”

President of the Ma’u Henua community Camilo Rapu, which looks after the moai, said the crash may have been deliberate.

“As people know, the moai are sacred structures that possess a religious value for the people of Rapa Nui,” he said.

“Something like this isn’t just dreadful – it’s an offence against a living culture that has spent the last few years fighting to regain its historic and archaeological heritage.”

The group reiterated the importance of taking care of Easter Island’s heritage in a post on Facebook:

[iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmau.henua%2Fposts%2F833331387183819&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”773″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowTransparency=”true” allow=”encrypted-media”]

Easter Island lures some 12,000 tourists per month, with the moai statues a key drawcard to the island. However, while they are an important feature of the Polynesian island, they aren’t always treated with the respect they deserve.

In July last year, a slew of nose-picking selfies from tourists with moai contributed to concerns by experts that the island is suffering from overtourism.

Featured image: Sunrise over Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island (iStock.com/HappyToBeHomeless)

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]

  • Luxury

Malolo Island Resort opens brand new Spa

Fiji’s Malolo Island has added another string to its bow – opening its $1.3 million day spa on Thursday, 18th April 2024. (Lead Image: matriarch Rosie Whitton with spa staff) Located at the edge of the resort’s luscious patch of tropical rainforest, the new “Leilani’s Spa” adds another level of elevated experiences to Malolo’s already […]