Brazil: Rock fall on tourist lake - boats buried under rocks

Created: 01/09/2022Updated: 01/09/2022, 7:46 AM

In this photo from 09/02/2021 a tourist boat drives through a gorge in Lake Furnas near Capitolio City.

© Andre Penner / AP / dpa

Dramatic scenes on Lake Furnas in Brazil: a rock wall crashes onto tourist boats - at least seven people die.

Capitólio - In southeastern Brazil, at least seven people have been killed by a falling rock face on a lake popular with tourists.

Three tourists are still missing, as the fire department in the state of Minas Gervais announced on Saturday (local time).

32 people were injured in the accident when rocks weighing tons fell on three boats with visitors on the popular Furnas Lake.

At first, the authorities reported six dead and spoke of 20 missing.

The number of missing persons was estimated on the basis of "testimony, tourism operators and relatives," said the fire brigade.

Brazil: rock face crashes on tourist boats

A video showed the moment when a large part of a rock loosened and toppled onto the tourist boats floating in front of it on the Lago de Furnas in Capitólio.

Passengers on other boats panicked.

Other videos showed how people shortly before the disaster warned others about falling stones and asked the occupants of the boats to move away from the rock face.

Nine of the injured were hospitalized, the fire department announced, which was on site with a military diving unit.

For security reasons, the search should be interrupted during the night and continued the next day.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro praised the work of the forces, especially the navy, on Twitter.

This would have reacted immediately and saved human lives.

Brazil: Lake Furnas is a popular destination

According to the fire brigade, the heavy rains that had fallen in southeastern Brazil over the past few days contributed to the accident.

Lake Furnas, around 300 kilometers from Belo Horizonte, is a tourist magnet because of its bright green water and its spectacular rock faces.

The extensive Lake Furnas is also known as the "Sea of ​​Minas".

"We are experiencing a tragedy in our state today, triggered by the heavy rains that detached a rock face on Lake Furnas in Capitólio," wrote the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, on Twitter.

(red / afp / dpa)