Colombian authorities said 9 people are dead and more than 30 are missing after a tourist boat sank in a reservoir near the city of Medellin.
June 25 (UPI) — Colombian authorities said 9 people are dead and more than 30 are missing after a tourist boat sank in a reservoir near the city of Medellin.
Videos on social media have been circulating that show panicking passengers attempting to run up to a higher level on the boat as it sank. Witnesses said the boat broke in two and the captain told passengers to go to one side of the ship, which was carrying more than 150 passengers.
«Those on the first and second floors sank immediately, » a female survivor said . «The boat was sinking and all we could do was scream and call for help.»
It sank extremely quickly. It all happened in a few minutes, » said fire service captain Luis Bernardo Morales. «What we have seen in the videos is that the boat was very close to the port… and we do not know whether it was a mechanical failure, an overloading or something to do with the currents that caused it to sink.»
Margarita Moncada of a local disaster response agency, said that 99 people were rescued and another 40 were able to swim to shore.
Authorities have not released a cause for the accident. But local residents said the boat partially sank three months ago.
«They fixed it and it kept working normally, » one of the residents said .
Although the tourist boat was carrying more than 150 people, passengers said life vests were not provided.
The Colombian government sent the Air Force and scuba divers to look for survivors.
«The most important thing right now is to save lives, » said Mayor Federico Gutierrez.
