Darwin's Arch, a rock formation in the Galápagos archipelago south-east of Darwin Island, has collapsed due to natural erosion, according to Ecuador's environment ministry.
Aggressor Adventures, which organizes group trips to different destinations around the world, said in a Facebook post that one of its tour groups witnessed the incident.
"Unfortunately today, our guests of the Galápagos Aggressor III experienced a once in a lifetime event," the company shared.
"This morning at 11:20 a.m. local time, the world famous Darwin's Arch collapsed in front of their eyes. Some in the dive & travel industry are already referring to this now as 'The Pillars of Evolution'. We will miss this iconic site."
The Arch was named after the British scientist Charles Darwin, who visited the islands in 1835 on HMS Beagle. The rock structure - 43 meters (141 feet) high, 70 meters (230 feet) long and 23 meters (75feet) wide - is less than 1 kilometer (about half a mile) from Darwin Island. It's not accessible by land.
The Galápagos Islands, named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, contain flora and fauna found nowhere else on the planet and are part of a biosphere reserve. The archipelago is home to approximately 30,000 people spread over four inhabited islands.
There are 234 islands, inlets, and rocks in the archipelago. Four of them house approximately 30,000 people.
Tourists from all over the world visit to see the biodiversity of the islands, which inspired Darwin's theory of evolution.
