The world-famous 54-foot-tall "Rubber Duck" that's been seen floating in bodies of water all around the globe has met an untimely, albeit temporary demise in the rough waves of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's inflatable sculpture had the wind knocked out of it sometime overnight, and many in China immediately rushed to suggest that someone had deliberately deflated the duck.

Several hours later, however, Harbour City officials suddenly claimed the deflation was part of planned maintenance work, and the duck merely "needs to freshen up."

In a statement to AFP, a spokesman for the event organizers said the "scheduled body check" will take two days, and "if everything is fine we can inflate it as soon as possible and the public can appreciate it again."

Once up and sailing again, and barring another unfortunate bout of "bird flu," the duck is expected to remain in the Harbour until June 9th.

[photos via AP]