A tragedy mourned a very tourist site on Saturday in Brazil. The fall of a section of cliff on boats sailing on a lake in the state of Minas Gerais, in the south-east of the country, has left at least seven dead and three missing, we learned from firefighters .
“At this stage, there are seven dead and three missing,” said in a final report the spokesman of the firefighters of Minas Gerais, Pedro Aihara. There are also 32 injured.
Three boats affected
At midday, a large fragment of rock broke away from its wall and fell on three boats sailing on Furnas Lake, a site popular for its green waters and spectacular parade of rock walls. In gruesome footage shared on social media, the exact moment the rock mass detached and fell on the three boats could 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 that “a lot of stones are falling” and calling on the occupants of the boats to move away from the wall. President Jair Bolsonaro has shared some of these videos on social networks, praising the work of the Brazilian Navy which, “as soon as the unfortunate disaster has occurred”, moved to the site and “is working to rescue the victims and to transport the wounded ”.
Recent heavy rains
Among the injured, nine were hospitalized, according to the firefighters who intervened on the spot with various equipment and a brigade of divers. The search was to stop at night for security reasons and resume this Sunday. The number of people missing was estimated by firefighters on the basis of testimonies, tourist agencies and relatives.
The intense rains that have fallen in recent days in southeastern Brazil have favored the accident, according to firefighters. The Capitolio region, 300 kilometers from the capital Belo Horizonte, attracts many tourists with its rock faces, its canyon and waterfalls encasing Lake Furnas formed by a hydroelectric reservoir of the same name.