Moon landing: Mid-Autumn Festival art installation deflates as high winds and rain batter Hong Kong
- Giant moon put up for Mid-Autumn Festival just off Kwun Tong promenade comes apart
- Thunderstorm warning has been in effect since early on Thursday morning
The glowing, 15-metre “Fly Me to the Moon” installation on a tugboat off Kwun Tong promenade, which drew huge crowds to the waterfront on Tuesday night, was meant to be in place from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Organisers GP42 had planned to take it down on Thursday morning, because it was deemed too risky to remove it at night.
“As we were taking down the moon in the morning, one of its cables snapped and it fell into the sea. We are in the process of scooping it out of the water,” the company said in a statement on Facebook.
The organisers retrieved the giant inflatable around noon, a spokesman for the group confirmed.
Videos being shared via WhatsApp showed the moon being picked up by a gust of wind and rolling off across the water, eventually deflating and collapsing onto the surface.
The Hong Kong Observatory earlier issued a thunderstorm warning at 5.55am, and which was expected to be in place until 2pm. Forecasters also warned residents to take precautions against intense gusts and to beware of flying debris and falling objects.
