A Nationalist Party MP has called attention to rock fissures at Mellieħa’s Aħrax that could pose a threat to a 150-year-old statue there. 

Ivan Castillo shared photos of cracks in the rock running along the Madonna tal-Aħrax statue, which sits at the tip of the Mellieħa headland. 

“We still have a chance of saving it,” he wrote. “Let’s not let another piece of us be lost forever because we did nothing.” 

Castillo, who is from Mellieħa, did not make any suggestions as to what could be done to fix the issue.

Some of those who replied to his call suggested dismantling the statue and moving it further inland to a safer spot. Others noted that, rather than the fate of the statue, authorities should be more concerned with cordoning the affected area off to protect pedestrians. 

The Madonna tal-Aħrax statue, which sits in front of the Immaculate Conception chapel at the end of Marfa Ridge road, dates back to 1870.