Tourists on a boat trip hit by a boulder – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
In addition to the confirmed deaths, at least three people are missing, Reuters reports.
The accident happened on Saturday in the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil.
Tourists had taken the trip out on Lake Furnas in smaller motorboats. The lake, located about 420 kilometers north of São Paulo, with its steep mountain sides and waterfalls is a popular destination.
Videos from social media show that the boats are close to a mountain wall with a waterfall, when a large mountain section loosens and falls over the tourists.
An unimaginable tragedy
Other tourists further away are said to have shouted to warn when they noticed me on the rock block that came loose. Without the opportunity to help, they witnessed rocks fall and hit at least two of the boats.
Pedro Aihara, a spokesman for the Minas Gerais fire department, said Washington Post that three women and four men have been confirmed dead. They were part of a group of friends and family vacationing together. None of the ten people on board the boat, including a ten-year-old, are expected to have survived.
– It is the saddest thing in the world to think that these people of all ages, even children, had fun and enjoyed themselves with the beautiful lake before an unimaginable tragedy occurred, Aihara told the newspaper.
Search operation in progress
32 people must be injured in the accident. Nine were seriously injured and were hospitalized. Several have suffered bone fractures, and one person is hospitalized in a serious condition with head injuries.
Search crews were sent to the site, and have searched for the missing, both from boats and when diving.
– We perform the search on the surface of the water, and in water with divers. The investigation work continues. We work with witnesses, family members and local companies, said the head of the fire and rescue service in Minas Gerais, Edgard Estevo.
Estevo said early on that as many as 20 could be missing. The number was sharply reduced when it turned out that many had managed to get to the hospital on their own.
The divers’ exploration work in the lake was put on hold overnight for safety reasons, but other search crews continued the search sent on Saturday night.
Heavy rain
There has been heavy rainfall in southeastern Brazil in recent weeks. Already, tens of thousands have had to evacuate from their homes during this year’s rainy season.
The rain is probably the reason why the boulder came loose. Rock formation in Furnas should be composed of sedimentary rocks, which have lower resistance to wind and water.
– Today we are suffering the pain of a tragedy in our state, due to heavy rain, which caused the detachment of a rock wall in Lake Furnas in Capitólio, tweeted the governor of Minas Gerais Romeu Zema.