CAPITOLIO, Brazil — Ten people died and dozens were injured when a wall of rock collapsed onto pleasure boats below a waterfall in southeastern Brazil on Saturday, first responders confirmed.
Update 2:46 p.m. EST Jan. 9: Officials in Brazil confirmed Sunday that the death toll in Saturday’s collapse of a canyon rock face has been revised to 10.
Firemen and divers recovered three more bodies from Furnas Lake on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, some 30 boating tourists were injured by falling rocks and a massive water wave when the rock column crashed into the lake, authorities confirmed to Reuters.
Original report: Edgard Estevo, commander of the Minas Gerais State Fire Department, said at a news conference that in addition to the dead as many as 20 people might be missing and officials were seeking to identify them, CNBC reported.
According to the network, the towering slab of rock broke from a cliff on Furnas Lake.
Reuters confirmed late Saturday that at least three people remained unaccounted for and that search efforts were suspended for the night.
Videos posted on social media showed tourists shouting as the column of rock crashed into the water, smashing two boats, the news outlet reported.
Officials confirmed to CNBC that at least 32 people were injured in the incident but most had been released from hospitals by Saturday evening.
According to Reuters, broken bones accounted for the majority of the known injuries, and one patient was listed in serious condition at an area hospital with head and facial injuries.
Earlier in the day, the press office of Minas Gerais state told The Associated Press that the fire department had deployed divers and helicopters to help.
Created in 1958 for the installation of a hydroelectric plant, Furnas Lake attracts some 5,000 visitors on a weekend and as many as 30,000 tourists on holidays to Capitolio, CNBC reported.
The region has been under heavy rainfall for two weeks, which could have loosened the rock face, Reuters reported.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.