At least seven people have died and three more are still missing in the fall of a section of cliff, which fell on boats sailing in Furnas Lake, a tourist site in the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil. At midday, a large fragment of rock broke away from its wall and fell on three boats sailing on this lake, popular for its green waters and its parade of spectacular rock walls.
In dramatic footage shared on social media, the exact moment the rock mass breaks away and falls on the three boats can 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 shared some of these videos on social media, praising the work of the Brazilian Navy which, “as soon as the unfortunate disaster occurred”, came to the site and worked to ” rescue the victims and transport the wounded ”.
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 the next day. The intense rains that have fallen in recent days in southeastern Brazil have favored the accident, according to firefighters.
