Five people killed in Brazilian cliff collapse
RIO DE JANEIRO: At least five people were killed and 20 others remain missing after a cliff collapsed onto boaters in a lake in Brazil.
“So far, there are five confirmed deaths and the current estimate is 20 missing people, in addition to 32 people injured,” Colonel Edgard Estevo da Silva, commander of the Minas Gerais Firefighters, told a press conference.
Aa large rock fragment detached itself from a ravine and plunged atop three boats on weekend trips to Furnas Lake, a tourist area in the Capitolio region, at midday on
Saturday. Tourists flock to the area to view the rock walls, caverns and waterfalls that surround the green waters of Lake Furnas, formed by an hydro-electric dam.
Dramatic videos shared on social networks show the exact moment the cliff collapsed on the three boats, to the panic of the passengers who witnessed the scene from the other boats.
Another video post on social media shows the minute before the fall, in which several people warned that “many stones are falling” and yelled at the occupants of the other boats to move away from the wall. At least 32 people were injured, nine of whom had to be hospitalised, according to firefighters, who were working at the scene with various rescue teams.
Searches were interrupted overnight for security reasons and resumed the following morning. The number of disappeared was estimated based on “information from witnesses, tourism agencies and relatives”, Colonel da Silva said.
Firefighters said heavy rain falls in recent days in southeastern Brazil made the collapse more likely.
President Jair Bolsonaro retweeted some of the videos on his account and reported that “as soon as the unfortunate disaster occurred, the Brazilian Navy moved to the site to rescue victims and transport the injured”.
The Governor of Minas Gerais state, Romeu Zema, said: “Today we are suffering the pain of a tragedy in our state, due to heavy rains, which caused the loosening of a wall of stones in Lake Furnas, in Capitólio.
“The Government of Minas is present through the Civil Defence and Fire Department. Rescue work is still ongoing.
“I stand in solidarity with families at this difficult time. We will continue to act to provide the necessary support.”