VALLETTA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The first underwater footage of what was known as the Azure Window emerged online on Sunday.
A videoclip shot by local diver George Vassallo and uploaded on Youtube shows huge chunks of rock, believed to be those of the collapsed Azure window underwater at Dwejra in Gozo.
Vassallo said that it appears the pillar of the Azure Window collapsed first because of deterioration to its inner side. Upon closer inspection, it appears to have tilted outwards, causing the roof to crash into the sea.
The Azure Window, one of Malta's most iconic sites, collapsed into the sea last Wednesday. Local authorities have insisted nothing could have been done to prevent its collapse.
The Maltese government has launched an international initiative to commemorate the landmark and at this stage is not excluding the possibility of retrieving the pieces to be exhibited in a different location.
