On January 8, a section of a cliff collapsed on tourist boats on Furnas Lake, killing and injuring several people.
Popular with tourists, Furnas Lake is located in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil. The curious can observe the impressive rock walls that surround the lake from boats. Saturday January 8, one of these walls fell apart at midday to collapse on several boats. The latest assessment, reported by BFMTV, reports seven dead, three missing and about thirty wounded. On Twitter, some tourists at the scene posted impressive videos of the drama.
Several boats were present near the cliff when the collapse took place. While some were able to navigate fast enough to avoid the rocks, others ended up under the landslide area. In all, three boats were affected. On some videos, we understand that several rocks were already collapsing and that witnesses to the scene called the boats to move away from the rock walls.
A site weakened by the rains?
Many firefighters were quickly dispatched to the scene to come to the aid of tourists and begin the search to find those still missing. Professionals had to stop their work overnight for safety reasons. According to local firefighters, the origin of the tragedy would come from the intense rains that have fallen in recent days in the south-east of Brazil. The water would have weakened the rock and the cliffs and led to disaster. The search should resume this Sunday in order to find the people still missing.