Dramatic scenes on Lake Furnas in Brazil: a rock wall crashes onto tourist boats underneath – at least six people die, 20 more are missing.
Capitólio – At least six people were killed when a rock wall fell on boats carrying tourists on a lake in southeastern Brazil.
20 people were still missing, as the Brazilian media reported on Saturday evening (local time), citing the fire department of the state of Minas Gerais.
It had previously been said that at least 32 people had also been injured, many of whom were released from various hospitals by the evening.
A video showed the moment when a large part of a rock loosened and toppled onto the tourist boats floating in front of it on the Lago de Furnas in Capitólio. According to the fire department, two boats were hit and sunk.
Popular destination
Accordingly, divers were sent to the lake, located around 400 kilometers north of the metropolis of São Paulo, whose canyons are a popular excursion destination in the region. The extensive Lake Furnas is also known as the “Sea of Minas”.
“We are experiencing a tragedy in our state today, triggered by the heavy rains that detached a rock face on Lake Furnas in Capitólio,” wrote the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, on Twitter.
Today we are suffering the pain of a tragedy in our state, due to heavy rains, which caused the detachment of a wall of stones in Lake Furnas, in Capitólio. The Government of Minas has been present from the beginning through the Civil Defense and Fire Department.
— Romeu Zema (@RomeuZema) January 8, 2022
In the state, like in neighboring Bahia, it had rained heavily recently. The Brazilian Navy, which also participated in the rescue operation, announced that it would initiate an investigation to determine the causes of the accident. dpa
