The breathtaking moment lightning strikes Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue

A photographer captured the breathtaking moment lightning struck the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

The once-in-a-lifetime photograph, which has gone viral on social media, shows a bolt of lightning hitting the head of the nearly 100-foot-tall statue — the largest depiction of Jesus in the world.

Fernando Braga captured the stunning scene when a sudden thunderstorm hit the coast. He then posted the photo on Instagram.  

“DIVINE LIGHTNING !!! IT’S FRIDAY!!!” Braga wrote in Portuguese. He said he snapped the photo around 6:55 p.m. Friday, using a Nikon D800 camera.

The photo has garnered over 168,000 likes since it was posted. On Twitter, the photos have been viewed more than 20 million times. The image spurred numerous Thor and Zeus jokes.

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“Mom! Thor and Jesus are at it again!” one user commented.

Christ the Redeemer, which has been named one of the seven modern wonders of the world, towers over Rio de Janeiro at over 2,000 feet on Corcovado Hill. Built in 1931 with 700 tons of concrete, the statue has become an emblem of the city as well as a national symbol for Brazil.

The statue is struck by lightning between three and five times each year, according to the BBC.

The statue’s right thumb needed to be repaired after it was chipped during a 2014 strike.