Video footage showing the harrowing moment a canyon wall at Lago de Furnas collapsed on four tourist-occupied boats sent shockwaves across social media.
Lago de Furnas latest news: What’s the death toll?
Onlookers could only watch on in horror as the massive rock sliced off the wall and plummeted into the ravine, where four boats carrying 10 tourists, the youngest believed to be 10 years old, were passing by.
According to The Washington Post, seven people — three women and four men — lost their lives in the gob-smacking freak accident.
More than 30 others who were in close proximity suffered moderate-to-serious injuries from the force of the massive rock plunge.
Pedro Aihara, a spokesperson for the Minas Gerais fire department, confirmed to the cited publication that as of Saturday evening, there was one victim in critical condition, nine others were being kept in the intensive care unit and at least three other passengers were missing.
Video footage of the Lago de Furnas canyon wall collapse was caught on camera and, moments later, surfaced online:
Imagens que circulam nas redes sociais mostram, de outro ângulo, o deslizamento de pedras que atingiu as embarcações com turistas em Capitólio. pic.twitter.com/WCTHdzAI8n
— O Tempo (@otempo) January 8, 2022
URGENTE!!! Pedras se soltam de cânion em Capitólio, em Minas, e atingem três lanchas. pic.twitter.com/784wN6HbFy
— O Tempo (@otempo) January 8, 2022
What caused the canyon wall collapse?
From what’s known so far, one of the boats plunged by the freak rockslide was carrying 10 passengers, a group of family and friends who were at the tail-end of a holiday.
One of the occupants was a 10-year-old whose name is believed to be Jesus and according to early search signals, it’s believed none of the members survived.
“It’s just the saddest thing in the world to imagine. To think that these people of all ages, even children, were having fun and enjoying that beautiful lake before an unimaginable tragedy struck,” Aihara said.
At this time, investigations into what caused the Lago de Furnas canyon wall collapse have continued with the search for the missing persons taking the highest priority.
The Brazilian navy is believed to be at the centre of probing the cause of the collapse, however, which at this juncture, is being attributed to gradual decay caused by rainfall.
“We have a rock formation that is basically composed of sedimentary rocks. So these are rocks that naturally have a much lower resistance to winds and water,” Aihara explained.