When a cliff face along the ravines of Furnas Lake in Brazil collapsed, ten people who were closest to the site of the accident were killed, and more than thirty other individuals were injured.
Horrific Event Caught on Camera
Furnas Lake, by all accounts, is a wonderful scenic destination with the steep peaks of the ancient Furnas Mountains, surrounding a naturally formed crater lake with geothermal wonders belying the water surface, and the beautiful Ribeira dos Caldeirões waterfall.
On last Saturday (8 Jan), however, this tour was brutally cut short because of a tragedy.
According to Brazilian authorities, the death toll on Saturday had initially been seven, with three people unaccounted for.
Shortly after the tragedy, the Brazilian authorities were quick to react:
First, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro retweeted videos of the ongoing rescues and declared that the Brazilian Navy had been mobilised to the site instantaneously to rescue the injured upon being informed that the unfortunate disaster occurred.
Searches conducted by divers the next day (9 Jan), found the three missing persons submerged underwater, officially bringing the death toll to ten.
The ten deceased victims were Brazilian nationals between the ages of 14 to 68, who were part of the group of family and friends closest to the collapsing cliff as shown in the video. Thus, they had succumbed to the high-energy impact.
Although there were 32 other injured victims, authorities state that most of them have been released from hospitals by Saturday evening.
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Erosion of the Rocks
Naturally, investigations into why such a terrible accident had occurred were carried out.
The firefighters at the scene had pointed out that South-eastern Brazil had been experiencing heavy precipitation the past few days, which could have led to the collapse.
Moreover, the heavy rainfall had also led to flooding of dikes around the area, causing nearly 17,000 people to move out of their homes.
This theory is supported by the Head of the Applied Geology Division of the Brazilian Geological Service, Tiago Antonelli, who stated that these cliff walls have been subjected to centuries of gradual erosion from the rain, heat and cold.
Such collapses are common in canyons, even for rocks that size, Antonelli said. But due to the rise of tourism, more people have started getting closer to these places to record these marvels on their phone.
This indirectly places them on the path of danger, since such collapses are not very predictable.
To prevent any further accidents from happening, Joana Sánchez, a geology professor from the Federal University of Goiás, suggested that authorities should control the site more, like keeping tourists one kilometre away from the waterfall during the rainy seasons.
Feature Image: YouTube (Daily News TV)
