New moai statue found in Easter Island volcano crater: "A really unique discovery"

A new moai, one of Easter Island's iconic statues, was found in the bed of a dry laguna in a volcano crater, the Indigenous community that administers the site on the Chilean island has said.

"This Moai has great potential for scientific and natural studies, it's a really unique discovery as it's the first time that a Moai has been discovered inside a laguna in a Rano Raraku crater," said the Ma'u Henua Indigenous community in a statement on Tuesday.

The statue was found on February 21 by a team of scientific volunteers from three Chilean universities collaborating on a project to restore the marshland in the crater of the Rano Raraku volcano.