Capsized tourist ferry involved in string of accidents

A TOURIST boat that sank in Colombia leaving at least nine people dead had been involved in three previous accidents, it emerged yesterday.

The El Almirante ferry, which was carrying about 150 people, went down on Sunday afternoon on the Penol reservoir in the tourist town of Guatape, 28 miles east of Medellin, just five minutes after leaving dry land.

Local media reported yesterday that the vessel had previously come close to sinking near an island known as Fan- tasy Island in another part of the reservoir. The second accident is understood to have happened at a jetty known as El Malecon.

Marilyn Usme, a local business owner, disclosed that there had been a third incident around three months ago, near the same jetty, but few people had found out about it because it happened at night and no passengers had been on board at the time. She told a local radio station: “The boat was fixed and carried on working as normal.” A Civil Defence worker described the construction of the four-storey ferry as “hand-crafted”.

Hernando Jaramillo, a Guatape resident and member of the regional Antioquia Department Civil Defence team, said: “These boats really are constructed in a traditional way.

“I got to know the shipbuilder’s yard where they were made. They’re not authorised by nautical engineers or experts in navigation.

“They’re boats built here with people’s own hands.”

Six of the dead, believed to be all Colombians, have already been named and include the ferry captain Luis Jaramillo’s daughter Valentina, who was working aboard. The only foreigner known to have been taken to hospital so far is a Belgian woman who was treated for a panic attack.

Dapard, a regional disaster response unit, confirmed that nine people had died in the accident, five of whom were recovered lifeless from the reservoir and another four who had died in hospital.

Rescue boats helped 99 people to safety, with another 40 reaching dry land themselves. Divers are searching for another 16 people believed to be missing.

Boats go to the rescue of a ferry as it sinks in the Guatape reservoir near Medellin in Colombia. The four-storey vessel, which was carrying about 150 people, was described as ‘hand-crafted’ by local people