Brazil: Dramatic Videos Making Rounds On Social Networks Captured The Moment The Cliff Collapsed

Ten people died when a cliff collapsed onto tourist boats on a lake in Brazil, officials said Sunday after the bodies of two missing people were found. On Saturday a large rock fragment broke free of a ravine and plunged onto four boats in Furnas Lake in Brazil’s eastern Minas Gerais state, as panicked tourists watched helplessly from other vessels.

President Jair Bolsonaro retweeted some of these videos on his account, and said that “as soon as the unfortunate disaster occurred, the Brazilian Navy moved to the site to rescue victims and transport the injured.”

– A Marinha atua ao lado do Corpo de Bombeiros de Minas Gerais, bem como de outros órgão oficiais e voluntários. @marmilbr @DefesaGovBr @ComandanteMb pic.twitter.com/ZAgGud6sR1

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) January 8, 2022

– Momentos antes da tragédia. pic.twitter.com/OcoGaVj63Q

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) January 8, 2022

The bodies of the two remaining missing individuals were found Sunday by rescuers, civil police commissioner Marcos de Souza Pimenta told reporters.

More than 30 people were injured, including nine who had to be hospitalized, authorities said.

The ten who died were part of a group of family and friends on the boat that suffered the biggest impact from the rockfall, according to rescuers.

Ramilton Rodrigues, a friend of one of those who were killed, was waiting with family members for the bodies to arrive at a forensic institute in Passos, a city some 44 km from the scene of the accident.

My friend “came to the Capitolio area to celebrate his birthday, he would have turned 25 this Sunday, but was killed a day earlier,” Rodrigues told AFP while waiting amid great anguish.

A diving squad had to pause its search overnight for safety reasons, but other rescuers continued working. Divers resumed their search Sunday.

Extremely heavy rain has fallen in recent days in southeastern Brazil, possibly precipitating the collapse, according to firefighters.

Geographer Eduardo Bulhoes of the Fluminense Federal University told AFP that rock falls in the area were more likely to occur during the rainy months of December and January.

To avoid future accidents, he said, it would be advisable to keep tourists further away from the cliffs during the rainy season.