Garbage is removed from the Christ the Redeemer mountain

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian cleanup crew rappelled into the shadow of one of the world’s most famous landmarks on Monday: Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue.

With harnesses and ropes tied to the balustrade surrounding the statue’s viewing platform, they worked to remove the rubbish that had accumulated on the mountainside before the eyes of tourists.

Employed by the municipal waste management company, they are also qualified mountaineers who often clean the city’s famous slopes, including those inhabited by working-class communities.

They not only collect plastic bottles and other waste, but also flammable materials that increase the risk of forest fires.

Their work is “important because it preserves nature, prevents fires, removes the trash that accumulates here and reduces visual pollution, since we receive many tourists,” says Paulo Mauricio, an engineer who supervises the cleanup around the statue of Christ the Redeemer.

The famous monument, which is approaching its 100th anniversary, was inaugurated on October 12, 1931 after about five years of construction.

The statue is thirty metres high on an eight metre pedestal.

Located at the top of Corcovado Hill, it is 709 meters above sea level, dominating a considerable part of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

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