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The Azure Window, that captivating landmark you will see in dozens of Instagram posts, as well as in the Dothraki wedding scene in the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones," is now and forever gone. The rock formation that sat just off Malta's Gozo Island collapsed into the sea during a powerful storm. Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat received the news as "heartbreaking."

Stormed Out

A storm hit Malta on Tuesday (Mar. 7), with gale-force winds so strong, they had to suspend the Gozo Channel ferry company. "There was a big raging sea beneath the window," local resident Roger Chessell told the Times of Malta what he saw when the Azure Window collapsed. "Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud [whooping sound], throwing up a huge spray. By the time the spray had faded, the stack had gone too."

The Maltese Prime Minister took his thoughts about the incident to Twitter. He said that reports indicating that the Azure Window would become a target for unavoidable natural corrosion have already existed. He added that that sad day had arrived. In addition, a study conducted in 2013 said that the Azure Window will fall down eventually but it would "likely survive for 'decades to come," in a report by the Times of Malta.

Tourists' Fault?

But it's not just the storm that took a hit on this rock formation. According to BBC, in the recent years tourists are apparently damaging the rock formation by running on and jumping off the cliff, which resulted to dislodged rocks. Authorities have already imposed penalties for walking the arch, although this was rarely enforced.

The Azure Window has been used as the scenic backdrop for several movies and TV shows. Perhaps the most famous one was when it was seen as the wedding backdrop of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo in the first episode of "Game of Thrones." "Clash of the Titans" is another movie which featured the arc.