Jesus statue struck by lightning

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OHIO - A SIX-story statue of Jesus Christ was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only a blackened steel skeleton and pieces of foam that were scooped up by curious onlookers on Tuesday.

The 'King of Kings' statue, one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along the Interstate 75 freeway in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze on Monday, Monroe police dispatchers said.

The sculpture, about 19m tall and 12m wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a football touchdown. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained on Tuesday.

The nickname is the same used for a famous mural of the resurrected Jesus that overlooks the Notre Dame football stadium. The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, police chief Mark Neu said.

Estimated damage from the fire was set at US$700,000 (S$973,980) - US$300,000 for the statue and US$400,000 for the amphitheater, fire captain Richard Mascarella said on Tuesday.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol was at the scene on Tuesday to prevent traffic jams and potential accidents from motorists stopping along the highway to take photographs.