Add Category
Updated
A tourist boat packed with about 170 passengers for the holiday weekend capsized on a reservoir near the Colombian city of Medellin, leaving six people dead and 16 missing, officials said.
Rescuers including firefighters from nearby cities and air force pilots were searching for survivors at the Guatape reservoir where the four-story El Almirante ferry sank.
A flotilla of recreational boats and jet skis rushed to the scene, pulling people from the boat as it went down and avoiding an even deadlier tragedy.
Dramatic videos circulating on social media show a multi-story ferry rocking back and forth as people crawled down from a third-floor roof as the ship began sinking.
"Those on the first and second floors sank immediately," a female survivor who was not identified by name told local TV station Teleantioquia.
"The boat was sinking and all we could do was scream and call for help."
President Juan Manuel Santos arrived at the Guatape reservoir and said that over 100 people were either rescued or found their way to shore.
It is unclear what caused the boat to sink, but survivors said that it appeared to be overloaded and nobody on board was wearing a life vest.
Survivors told local media that the boat, called El Almirante, appeared to be overloaded and none of the passengers on board were wearing life vests.
Authorities were at a loss to say exactly how many people were on the boat and asked passengers or their loved ones to report to a rescue centre hastily set up along the shore.
They also made a call for scuba divers to assist with the search.
The reservoir surrounding the soaring rocky outcrop of El Penol is a popular weekend destination a little more than an hour from Medellin.
It was especially busy on Sunday as Colombians celebrated a long holiday weekend.
AP
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, maritime, colombia
First posted