Three Die in Boat Crash in Amazon River

Three die in boat crash in Amazon River

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) — Three people died when a riverboat crashed into a ferryboat in the Amazon River, northern Brazil, the local press informed on Thursday.

According to the fire brigade, the bodies found in the morning were of a woman and two children. The firefighters still look for 15 people who disappeared in the accident.

The riverboat had left the municipality of Alenquer, in Para state, and headed for Manaus, the capital city of Amazonas state. After colliding with a ferryboat, it sank at around 10 p.m. (localtime) on Tuesday, in the municipality of Itacoatiara, 250 kilometers away from Manaus.

Another boat that was around at the time at the accident rescued 92 victims. Divers and two helicopters are currently working in the rescue mission.

According to its captain, 70 passengers and 12 crew members goton the riverboat when it left Alenquer, but others came aboard on the way. He estimated that the watercraft, also used to transport cargo, was taking a total of 110 people when it crashed. However, the capital city’s naval district has not released the exact figure yet.

The official causes of the accident have not been stated either.February is regarded as the rainiest month of the year in the Amazon rainforest region, where constant rain turn the December-May period into the local “winter,” despite the fact that it is summer in the southern hemisphere. Although rainfalls have an influence over the rivers’ flow, that has not yet been confirmed to have contributed to the accident.

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