RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least eight people died, more than 30 were injured, and three others are still missing in Brazil after a cliff fell on several tourist boats on a lake in inland Minas Gerais (southeast) on Saturday (Jan. 08), according to fire officials.
“We have six confirmed deaths so far,” Pedro Aihara, spokesman for the Minas Gerais Fire Department, said in a video sent to journalists Saturday evening. A seventh death was later reported.
https://twitter.com/JornalOGlobo/status/1479875442169552898
The fire department’s commander, Edgard Estevo da Silva, had earlier told a news conference that “according to current estimates, 20 people are missing,” in addition to the 32 injured, nine of whom had to be hospitalized, according to the fire department.
At noon on Saturday, a large boulder broke loose from a gorge and fell vertically onto three boats traveling on Lake Furnas, a tourist region in Minas Gerais.
Dramatic videos shared on social media show the exact moment the massif broke off and fell onto the boats, sending onlookers into a panic.
Another of the records shows the minute before the collapse, in which several people warn that “many stones are falling” and shout to the occupants of the other boats to move away from the wall.
– Tão logo aconteceu o lamentável desastre em Capitólio/MG, a Marinha deslocou para a região equipe de socorro da Força.
– Desde então a @marmilbr vem atuando no resgate de vítimas e transporte de feridos para a Santa Casa local. pic.twitter.com/lDuF0jPK7T
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) January 8, 2022
President Jair Bolsonaro shared some of these videos on his networks and announced that “the Brazilian Navy was deployed to the scene immediately after the unfortunate accident” and “will take over the rescue of the victims and the transport of the injured.”
Divers stopped searching overnight for safety reasons, but other rescuers continued to work at the site, the Navy said.
The number of missing was estimated based on “information from witnesses, travel agencies, and family members,” Col. Estevo said.