How Deflating: Huge Rubber Duck Goes Flat In Taiwan

NPR | By Mark Memmott

Published December 31, 2013 at 10:23 AM CST

Earlier this year, it was Hong Kong's six-story tall rubber duck that went pffff.

Now, there's word from Taiwan that another of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's floating works of art has collapsed.

The BBC reports that "the giant inflatable" burst suddenly Tuesday "in front of scores of people gathered on a quayside" in Keelung Port.

This video captures the duck's demise.

Organizers are apologizing and promise to figure out what happened.

As we've previously reported, Hofman believes his ducks promote "peace and harmony."

Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

See stories by Mark Memmott

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