At least seven people died and 30 were injured this Saturday following a tourist speedboat accident between the canyons of a lake in the Brazilian town of Capitólio, in the state of Minas Gerais (southeast).
The information was given by the Fire Department during the followingnoon, adding that the number of victims might still rise.
Four boats were hit by a large rock fragment that broke off a ravine and fell. Two of those boats suffered a direct hit and sank in the accident.
Lieutenant Pedro Aihara, spokesman for the Minas Gerais Fire Department, said in a video sent to the press that at least two of the confirmed deaths are men, although until that moment they had not been identified.
According to Aihara, the recognition was complex due to the severity of the injuries to the victims’ bodies.
In videos shared on social networks you can see the dramatic moment when the ravine breaks away.
This screenshot from a video posted on Twitter shows the moment of the rock detachment.
14 people were rescued alive from one of the vessels and 10 from the other.
The other two boats suffered indirect impacts. From one of them, 10 passengers were rescued alive, and from the fourth boat, 8 people.
According to firefighters, 23 people received medical attention following the accident and were discharged. Two were hospitalized, with exposed fractures.
Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss out on our best content.
