A tourist boat navigates through a canyon in Lake Furnace, near Capitolio City, Brazil, on September 2.
Highlight
- A rock tower broke off a cliff near a waterfall on a Brazilian lake
- 20 people may be missing and officials are trying to identify them
- Officials said at least 32 people were injured, although most have been discharged from hospitals.
A high slab of rock broke and fell on Ananda Boaters while drifting near a waterfall on a Brazilian lake on Saturday, killing at least six people, officials said.
Minas Gerais State Fire Department Commander Edgard Estevo told a news conference that 20 people could be missing in addition to the dead and officials were trying to identify them.
At least 32 people were injured, officials said, although most had been discharged from hospitals by Saturday evening.
Video images showed a group of small boats moving slowly near a sheer cliff cliff on Lake Furnas, when a crack appeared in the rock and a giant piece fell on at least two ships.
Estevo said the accident occurred between the cities of So Jose da Barra and Capitolio, where the boats had left.
The Minas Gerais state press office told The Associated Press that the fire department had deployed divers and helicopters to assist. Minas Gerais Governor Romu Zema sent messages of solidarity with the victims via social media.
Furnace Lake, created in 1958 to house a hydroelectric plant, is a popular tourist attraction in an area about 420 kilometers (260 mi) north of So Paulo. Officials in the Capitolio, which has about 8,400 residents, say the city could have about 5,000 visitors on weekends and up to 30,000 on holidays.
Officials suggested that the loosening of the wall could be related to the recent heavy rains, which caused floods in the state and forced about 17,000 people to move out of their homes.
Earlier last year, the worry was a lack of rain as Brazil experienced its worst drought in 91 years, forcing officials to alert the flow of water from the Farnes Lake dam.
The Brazilian Navy, which helped with the rescue, said it would investigate the cause of the crash.
The City Hall Press Office said that even in dry weather, movement in some parts of the lake is so intense that boats have to take turns to get to the lake.
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