iPhone Savior: Instagram User Captures Jane's Carousel Submerged By Sandy Flood Waters

A sad and tragic Instagram image went viral late Monday night showing Jane's Carousel at The Brooklyn Bridge Park completely flooded in the wake of Hurricane Sandy — while the lights inside the pavilion illuminated the dark waters surrounding it.

The 48 wooden horses which reside inside the pavilion located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges — were restored by artist Jane Walentas who spent over 20 years on the project. The horses came from a theme park originally installed in Youngstown in 1922.

Hundreds of comments left under the eerie photo captured by Andjelicaaa underscored the tragic picture — with many grieving over what could be just one of many devastating losses for New Yorkers should flood waters continue to rise.

“I was there in August. My heart cries seeing all this happening.” said francychicca65.

At the time of this writing, there were over 453,000 Instagram images tagged with the hashtag #Sandy. Although dozens of faked Hurricane Sandy photos populated Instagram on Monday, it was this one image that struck a nerve with New Yorkers, as well as with some as far away as Australia.

“Maybe its not ruined? Maybe it can be cleaned and salvaged.” pantherspix added.

Against all odds — maybe the flood waters will subside in the morning light and maybe this labor of love can survive the wrath of Sandy.

The image below offers a beautiful look at the walk up to Jane's Carousel — taken just four weeks ago by Ramon Nuez.

UPDATE: This just in from Jane Walentas: “The horses are fine! The wooden carousel and horses as well as the building, are all fine. Unfortunately, however, the basement that houses all the electronics was totally flooded—5ft. of water. As soon as we can pump it out we 'll assess the damage. We're optimistic that the carousel will be fine, but it will probably take some time to get it fully restored to happily prancing again.”