The fall of a section of cliff on boats sailing in a very touristy lake in the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil, killed at least ten people on Saturday, according to a new report released by police on Sunday. .
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At this point, the deaths of
"ten people"
have been confirmed, the regional police officer in Passos, Marcos de Souza Pimenta, told reporters.
The victims, Brazilian, were between 14 and 68 years old, according to preliminary elements of the investigation.
The last two people still missing were found dead on Sunday by the emergency services.
The body of a third missing was found by firefighters on Saturday.
A previous report, communicated by firefighters, reported seven dead and three missing, in addition to 32 injured.
Among the injured, nine were hospitalized, according to the firefighters who intervened on the spot with various equipment and a brigade of divers.
At midday on Saturday, 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 dramatic 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 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 ”
.
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.
