At least six people were killed and 20 more went missing when a section of the reef collapsed on boaters in a tourist lake in Brazil. Edgard Estevo da Silva, a spokesman for the fire brigade, said that “the current estimate is 20 people missing”, as well as 32 injured.
A large fragment of rock broke off a ravine and fell yesterday on top of three boats during weekend trips to Furnas Lake, a tourist area in the Capitolio region. In the dramatic videos shared on social media you can see the exact moment when the cliff fell on the three boats, amid the panic of the tourists witnessing the tragedy. Another video posted on social media shows the minute before the collapse, in which several people yelled at the boat occupants to get away.
President Jair Bolsonaro retweeted some of these videos on his account and reported that “as soon as the disaster struck, the Brazilian Navy moved to the scene to rescue the victims and transport the injured.” In recent days, heavy rains have fallen in south-east Brazil, making it more likely to collapse, firefighters explain.