Jan 9, 2022: A column of rock crashed down on leisure boats in Furnas Lake, Brazil, killing seven and injuring at least 32 people.
At least seven people have been killed and nine others seriously injured when a rock wall collapsed on a boat carrying tourists on a lake in southeastern Brazil. Videos from Saturday’s incident show tourists screaming, a column of rocks collapsing, several pleasure boats colliding and sending a huge wave into the lake at Capitolio in the state of Minas Gerais.
Rescue teams, including a diving squad and members of the Brazilian Navy, arrived at Lake Furnas. Pedro Aihara, a spokesman for the Minas Gerais firefighters, said the latest official figures were “seven dead and three missing.” Another 32 were injured, including nine who had to be hospitalized, officials said. The injured had broken bones and one was in critical condition with head and face injuries.
Lake Furnas, built in 1958 to install a hydroelectric plant, is a tourist attraction in an area about 420 kilometers north of Sao Paulo.
The town, which has about 8,400 residents, town can accommodate about 5,000 visitors over the weekend and up to 30,000 on holidays according to Capitolio officials.
Officials suggested that the loosening of the rock face could be attributed to recent heavy rains that caused flooding in the state and forced about 17,000 people to flee their homes. On Saturday, a deck of an iron mine 300 km east was swept away, cutting off a central federal highway.
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