Tragedy in Brazil – rock face falls on tourist boats – at least eight dead – News

  • At least eight tourists were killed and more than 30 people were injured on a lake in Brazil.
  • The reason for this is a rock wall that fell on the boat in Lago de Furnas in Capitólio.
  • Divers were still looking for two missing persons on Sunday, as the fire brigade announced.

According to the police, the dead and missing are a married couple, their son and a grandson, as well as other relatives and friends, in addition to the boat driver. They came from the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo and were on the boat «Jesus».

Reservoir is a popular destination


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The Lago de Furnas in Capitólio is around 400 kilometers north of the metropolis of São Paulo. The gorges of the lake with the turquoise-green water are a popular excursion destination in the region. The extensive Furnas reservoir in the Rio Grande is also known as the “Sea of ​​Minas”.

The summer holidays are currently in Brazil, so after Christmas and New Year’s Eve there were numerous visitors. The boat trip to the canyons is a classic because of the spectacular nature.

Video images from Saturday afternoon showed how some stones fell from a cliff and then a large part of a rock came off. He tipped over on the excursion boats cruising below him on the Lago de Furnas in Capitólio. Passengers on a distant boat tried to warn. “Get away from there!” They shouted and whistled. “A lot of stones fall down.”

According to the fire department, two boats were hit directly by the falling rock face and two more indirectly. Initially, 20 people were considered missing.

Capitólio in shock

“We are in a state of shock,” said the mayor of Capitólio, Cristiano Silva, in a video on Instagram. He expressed his solidarity with the victims. The entrances to the gorges are closed until a technical report from the civil defense is available, said Silva on Brazilian television.

The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, wrote on Twitter: “We are experiencing the pain of tragedy in our state today, triggered by the heavy rains that detached a rock face on Lake Furnas in Capitólio.”

The last time in the state was – like in the northeast bordering Bahia – partly rained heavily. The Brazilian Navy, which participated in the rescue operation, announced an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. In addition, it should be clarified whether the excursion boats were even allowed to be on the lake at the time of the accident, given the weather conditions. The civil defense had warned of heavy rain.

The ingress of water in these areas can cause the rock to lose its internal resistance.

According to experts, in addition to the heavy rain of the past few days, the region essentially consists of sedimentary rock. Pedro Aihara, spokesman for the Minas Gerais fire department, said on Brazilian television: “The penetration of water in these areas can cause the rock to lose its internal resistance. And such a break can occur. “

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