Photo: Minas Gerais Fire Department / EFE
For: EFE
Wednesday, November 20
VIDEO: Tragic collapse of huge rock on boats in Brazil; up to 25 people were crushed
SAO PAULO – At least five people died and 20 were missing when a huge rocky wall of a canyon fell on some tourist boats this Saturday in a lake in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, which has suffered a heavy rainstorm in recent days.
The commander of the Minas Gerais Fire Department, Edgard Estevo, reported in a press conference that other 32 people were injured, though 23 of them suffered only minor injuries and have already received medical discharge.
The accident occurred about 11. 00 local time (14. 00 GMT) at Furnas Lake, one point tourism in the municipality of Capitólio (southeast), when a large block of stone fell from a height of five meters onto three boats , two of which were completely buried.
A Video that circulates on social networks and whose authenticity was confirmed to Efe by firefighters shows the moment when the huge rock detaches itself from the canyon wall and falls on the group of boats that were in the lake.
In another video moments before the accident, the affected boats are observed trying to get away from the canyon wall, amid the warnings and shouts of the people who were in the surrounding boats.
“So far five deaths have been confirmed and we are working with the possibility of 22 people disappeared days right now. We are collecting information to certify that these people were on the premises ”of the accident, Estevo told reporters.
The firefighters, who will continue with the searches until night for safety reasons, suspect that the heavy rainfall of recent days pressed the canyon walls , which may have caused the slippage.
Minutes before the accident with a rock fall in Capitólio, Minas Gerais / SC, a head of water was recorded in the Furnas Canyon waterfall. Note the sudden volume in the waterfall. #Brazil pic.twitter.com/Rwfh61 TDTg
– TheMyxs (@TheMyxs) January 8, 2022
The spokesperson for the Minas Gerais Fire Department, Pedro Aihara, explained in statements to the ‘GloboNews’ channel that this region of canyons is made up of sedimentary rocks “more susceptible to the actions of wind and rain” and, therefore, “present less resistance ”.
“We are in a fairly rainy period, which has been able to accelerate the penetration of water into the rocky structure,” he said.
For its part, the Brazilian Navy reported in a note that it opened an investigation to clarify the causes and circumstances of the accident.
The town of Capitólio, located about 280 kilometers from Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais (southeast), is a tourist destination throughout the year for its impressive gorges that can be visited by boat rides.
Elsewhere in Minas Gerais, heavy rains also caused the overflow of a dam of the French steelmaker Vallourec on Saturday, which forced the cutting of the highway that connects Belo Horizonte with Rio de Janeiro, with no fatalities.
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