At least 6 people were killed and 20 are missing at the tourist site
At least six people have been killed after a rock fell on a tourist lake in southeastern Brazil. 32 people were injured and more than 20 are still missing.
At noon, a large rock broke its wall and fell on three boats traveling on Furnace Lake.
AFP
We learned with firefighters that at least 6 people were killed and 20 were missing on Saturday when part of a cliff fell on boats plying on a tourist lake in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. “At this point, there are six confirmed deaths,” Minas Gerais fire department spokeswoman Pedro Aihara said in a final statement. Earlier, during a press conference, Colonel Edgard Estevo da Silva stated that 32 people had been injured, five were dead and 20 were missing.
At noon, a large rock broke off its wall and fell on three boats Furnace Lake, a popular site for its spectacular parade of green water and rock walls. In dramatic scenes shared on social media, one was able to see the exact moment when the rocks fell on all three boats, causing panic among the passengers watching the scene on the other boats.
In other posts, shortly before the tragedy, we see people warning that “a lot of stones are falling” and calling those on the boat to leave the wall.
Of the injured, nine have been admitted to hospital and firefighters with various equipment and divers intervened at the scene. The search was halted overnight for security reasons and will resume the next day. Colonel Estevo said the number of missing persons was estimated on the basis of “witnesses, travel agents and relatives”.
Firefighters said heavy rains in recent days in southeastern Brazil were in favor of the crash. Located 300 kilometers from the capital Belo Horizonte, the Capitolio area attracts many tourists with its rocky faces, valley and waterfalls.
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