Europe 1 with AFP
, modified at
12:01 p.m., January 10, 2022
In Brazil, a cliff landslide at Furnas Lake (Minais Gerais) left at least ten dead and 32 people injured. According to the first elements of the investigation, the victims were between 14 and 68 years old. The intense rains in this region of the country in recent days could have favored the accident.
At least ten people were killed on Saturday in Brazil when a section of cliff gave way before falling on boats sailing on the very touristy Furnas Lake, in the state of Minas Gerais (Southeast), according to a report communicated Sunday by the police. At this point, the deaths of “ten people” have been confirmed, regional police chief Marcos de Souza Pimenta told reporters. The victims, Brazilian, were between 14 and 68 years old, according to the first elements of the investigation.
The bodies found “were not intact”
They were part of the same group of relatives and friends who were in the boat that suffered the most impact in the landslide, according to firefighters. “Not all the bodies were intact,” Marcos de Souza Pimenta said. The last two people still missing were found dead on Sunday by the emergency services. The body of a third missing was found by firefighters on Saturday. A previous report, communicated by firefighters, reported seven dead and three missing, in addition to 32 injured. Among the injured, nine were hospitalized, according to the firefighters who intervened on the spot with various equipment and a brigade of divers.
In dramatic footage shared on social media, the exact moment the rock mass breaks away and falls on the three boats can be seen, causing panic among passengers watching the scene on other boats. On other recordings, just before the tragedy, we see people issuing warnings saying “a lot of stones are falling” and calling on the occupants of the boats to move away from the wall. The intense rains that have fallen in recent days in southeastern Brazil have favored the accident, according to firefighters.