A tourist boat carrying around 150 people has sunk in the Penol reservoir in northwest Colombia, the country’s air force confirmed, saying that a search and rescue operation is under way.
So far three people have been confirmed dead, and 30 remain missing, the director of the National Police, General Jorge Hernando Nieto, told local media.
The majority of passengers were swiftly aided by numerous smaller leisure boats in the area, according to a video of the incident that emerged online.
BREAKING: Initial reports of at least 25 dead after a Boat carrying 150 tourists goes down in the Guatape reservoir, Colombia. pic.twitter.com/WxZW1vK2l5
— News_Executive (@News_Executive) June 25, 2017
According to preliminary information, the four-decked vessel was at maximum capacity at the time of the incident.
The sinking occurred at around 2:00pm local time, close to the embankment of the Peñol-Guatapé reservoir, Victoria Eugenia Ramírez, Antioquia’s government secretary, told the Colombian daily El País. The incident took place at the El Peñol de Guatapé dam, a popular tourist site, El Universo reported the Colombian Air Force as saying.
https://twitter.com/MauricioPCN19/status/879084256974295041
Ramírez specified that there was no clash with any other vessel, but the reasons for the incident still remain unclear. Eyewitnesses say passengers were not wearing life vests, so authorities have activated an emergency protocol to rescue the sinking ship.
#AEstaHora Un Helicóptero ÁNGEL #FAC procede hacia Guatapé en apoyo emergencia de naufragio de embarcación con alrededor de 150 personas. pic.twitter.com/8aLs2zmulB
— FuerzaAéreaColombian (@FuerzaAereaCol) June 25, 2017
The rescue operation has been launched with the support of the air force, navy, army and police. The military dispatched a Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter to support the rescue mission.
“We are ready to provide any assistance required,” the country’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, said on Twitter.
The Colombian Air Force said that its aircraft and crews are ready to airlift the people with “most serious” injuries who “require immediate attention.”
All rescue groups in eastern Antioquia and the Aburrá Valley were dispatched to help the rescue, according to Luis Bernardo Morales, the captain of the Envigado fire department, El Tiempo reports. A group of divers also arrived at the reservoir to search for possible victims’ bodies.
As the search and rescue operation continues, all access roads to the reservoir and the nearby town of Guatapé have been closed to private vehicles.
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