Tourist 'breaks ear' off Easter Island statue

A Finnish tourist has been detained after allegedly stealing a piece of volcanic rock from one of the massive Moai statues on Easter Island.

Marko Kulju, 26, faces seven years in prison and a fine of €12,200 if convicted of stealing pieces of the right earlobe from a Moai, one of numerous statues carved out of volcanic rock between 400 and 1,000 years ago to represent deceased ancestors.

A native Rapanui woman told authorities she witnessed the theft on Sunday at Anakena beach and saw Kulju fleeing from the scene with a piece of the statue in his hand. Police later identified him by the tattoos the woman saw on his body.

Kulju used his hands to tear off the earlobe, which fell to the ground and broke into pieces measuring 8-12in each, Easter Island Police Chief Cristian Gonzalez said.

Kulju fled with at least one of the pieces from the 13ft high Moai, he said.

“Fortunately, this type of thing does not happen every day, but it does happen, and it is almost impossible to control because on Easter Island there are sites of great archaeological value everywhere and the park guards cannot prevent all such incidents,” Easter Island government official Liliana Castro said.

Authorities are inspecting the statue to see if it can be repaired, she said. Damaging Moais is punishable under a law protecting national monuments.

The statues gaze out on the south Pacific more than 2,300 miles west of Chile, which annexed Easter Island in the 19th century.

The Moais were nominated, but not chosen, as one of the new seven wonders of the world, selected by average citizens in a global poll conducted by a non-profit organisation last year.

Among the monuments edging them out of the competition were India’s Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and Rome’s Colosseum.

About 3,800 people, the majority of them Rapanui, live on 70 sq-mile Easter Island.