The day many had feared finally arrived yesterday, when Gozo’s most iconic feature was lost to the wind and waves.

Soon after the news broke the country went into a state of shock. All attention on the social media turned to this national tragedy. For the first few minutes everyone was desperate to see the first pictures of what remained of the window. Many of us thought that the column would still be standing, but the first pictures to emerge, showing emptiness instead of our beloved window, were distressing.

The news that the Azure Window had finally succumbed to the sea even managed to disrupt a Labour Party press conference, originally about the db Group/PN saga, which was, incidentally being addressed by the Tourism Minister.  

This newspaper had followed the subject of the deterioration of the Dwejra natural arch with great interest. We called on the authorities to get their act together when videos of people jumping off the arch, damaging it in the process, kept surfacing on the internet. The pressure mounted by this newspaper and our media colleagues led to results when the Environment Ministry, headed by Jose Herrera, finally issuing an emergency conservation order and declared the area on top of the arch off-limits.

But the €1,500 fine deterrent flopped and people, sometimes in droves, kept trespassing on this former part of our national treasure. The government told us some weeks ago that rangers would be stationed near the approaches to the Azure Window, to turn any would-be trespassers back. It is too late for that now.

The truth is that no one but nature is to blame. Careless tourists (both local and foreign) might have speeded up the deterioration process to some degree but what happened yesterday morning was inevitable. It was shocking, however, because it came much sooner than expected. A geologist had told this paper some months back that small rockfall would continue but the structure would hold for some years. No science is perfect, it seems, and this includes geology.

While the experts had concluded that the arch would survive for at least another two decades, there was little information in the condition of the pillar. It was this part of the structure that came crushing down yesterday, pulling the rest beneath the blue.

Had the authorities known that the pillar was prone to collapse, the chances of saving the structure would still have been next to impossible, it seems.

This new development will have to bring about some changes. Maps depicting the Azure Window, including those in the Air Malta inflight magazines, will have to be updated. So will a lot of the Malta Tourism Authority’s promotional material. Most importantly, the MTA will have to see how to fill this new gap in the list of Gozo’s touristic attractions. Perhaps it could start by taking up our suggestion and declaring the natural arch in Wied il-Mielah, which is almost equally impressive, as the ‘new’ Azure Window. Perhaps in the case of Wied il-Mielah the government will not wait until the inevitable collapse to take the necessary action. The Gozo Ministry could do well with some positive publicity for a change.

The MTA should also work harder to promote other attractions, such as the Ġgantija temple, the newly-restored Cittadella and Gozo’s various churches and museums, which, by the way, could do with some upgrading.

Gozo has truly lost one of its dearest features, but life goes on, as they say, and the quant island should not lose any of its charm over this unhappy development. One should now hope that after losing the Azure Window, Gozo will not also lose another unique feature – its tranquility - safeguarded by its limited access. Perhaps we should now reconsider whether the planned undersea tunnel is in Gozo’s best interests.