Tourists tell of panic and confusion as lake ferry sinks

HOLIDAYMAKERS today told of their “miracle” escape after a Colombian tourist ferry sank in a giant lake with the loss of at least six lives.

The El Almirante went down on the Peñol reservoir in Guatapé — 28 miles east of Medellin — five minutes after it departed. The dead are all believed to be Colombians and include ferry captain Luis Jaramillo’s daughter, Valentina who was working on board.

Videos on social media showed the boat rocking back and forth as people crawled down from a fourth-floor roof as it sank in a matter of minutes.

Survivors described hearing a loud explosion near the men’s lavatories which knocked out the power after the ferry began its cruise around the lake.

Recreational boats and jet skis headed to the scene, pulling people from the boat as it went down at about 2.30pm local time yesterday. About 100 people were helped to safety and another 40 reached land by themselves.

Margarita Moncada, head of the disaster response agency in Antioquia state, said nine people had been killed, but President Juan Manuel Santos — who arrived in Guatapé later — put the number of fatalities at six. Divers were today searching for another 16 people believed to be missing.

Survivor Nora Perez, who was on the ferry with 20 relatives, said it started to move from one side to another as she was with a cousin on the second floor. “The captain told us to move to the right and then yelled at us to move to the left and then finally, to go forwards. But by then it was already sinking on all sides,” she said.

Ms Perez claimed the skipper was among the first to jump into the water after urging passengers to follow him. “My cousin broke one of the viewing windows and we both leapt into the water. I don’t know how to swim and I have no idea how I stayed afloat. It’s a miracle I’m still alive.”

Another survivor, Eder Tobon, said: “We began to hear a loud noise next to the shop and men’s bathroom. One of the girl shop workers went to have a look and started shouting that water was coming in. There was tremendous confusion because people started panicking and we were stopped from going to the upper decks.

“I took hold of two children and waited for the boat to sink. Those on the first floor went down very quickly,