A Drunk Tourist Destroyed a Historic Statue After a Three-Year Restoration. The Repair Costs P1 Million

A historic statue was seriously damaged when a drunken tourist stepped on it.

To make matters worse, the damaged historic statue is part of the Brussels Stock Exchange, which underwent a three-year restoration project.

The 150-year-old building—one of the most important squares in Belgium—has just finished a three-year renovation.

It had just opened to the public, but one day after the opening, the accident happened.

It is estimated that $19,000 (more than PHP1 million) was spent on the restoration project of the damaged statue in the Brussels Stock Exchange building.

A video of an Irish tourist climbing The Bourse—a statue of a lion and a man holding a torch—has gone viral on social media.

It happened on September 10, 2023, Sunday.

On both sides of the entrance, lion statues can be seen.

The man had obviously been drinking before he climbed up to the statue to take a photo. When he was coming down from the statue, he caught hold of the statue's torch which suddenly broke.

You can hear the surprise of other tourists at what happened.

After that, the male tourist quickly left.

The man was temporarily detained and a complaint has been filed against him.

To make matters worse, the newly renovated historic statue needs to be repaired again.

It is estimated that the cost will reach $19,000 (P1 million) to be shouldered by the injured tourist, reports Het Nieuwsblad.

"The repairs are going to cost a lot of money because the work will have to be done by real craftsmen," said Nel Vandevennet, project manager for the restoration.

"It is listed heritage and there will be follow-up from the monuments and landscapes agency of the Brussels region."

The project manager added: "We would like to carry out the repairs quickly, but it will surely take a few weeks or even months."

From: PEP.ph