Sand artist creates Pele sculpture on Odisha beach

Puri: Sand artist Manas Kumar Sahoo paid tribute to legendary footballer Pele by carving a beautiful sculpture of the Brazilian icon at Puri beach in Odisha.

The artist took four hours to craft the 15-foot wide sand sculpture of the footballer with the message "A Hero Never Dies ! Long live Pele !”.

Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer, who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century died on Thursday.

Ten tonnes of sand were used to complete the artwork which took four hours to create.

The artist has been making sand sculptures based on a variety of themes over the years.