[imagesource: Twitter / O Tempo]

It is only recently with the spread of smartphones that people have been able to capture and witness events that would otherwise only be seen in the movies.

The horrific footage of the moment tourist boats were pummelled by a collapsing cliff in Brazil on Saturday is a striking example.

The families and friends on the boats touring the Furnas lake in Capitólio, Brazil’s eastern Minas Gerais state, can be heard screaming as a portion of the rocky canyon wall toppled onto two of the boats below.

One of the boats was hit dead-on, while the other was swallowed on the side by the broken rocks and waves.

The folks in the surrounding boats could only watch on helplessly as debris and water hit them, too:

After the bodies of two missing people were found, the death toll officially went up to 10.

Additionally, more than 30 people were injured, including nine who had to be hospitalised, according to CBS News:

The bodies of the two remaining missing individuals were found Sunday by rescuers, civil police commissioner Marcos de Souza Pimenta told reporters.

The death toll Saturday was originally given as seven, with three people missing.

The victims were all Brazilian nationals, aged between 14 and 68, according to preliminary investigations.

According to rescuers, the 10 people who died were all friends and family on the one boat that got completely destroyed by the rockfall.

President Jair Bolsonaro retweeted some videos on his account, with one showing people shouting warnings about the impending danger minutes before the terrifying reality unfolded:

– Momentos antes da tragédia. pic.twitter.com/OcoGaVj63Q

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) January 8, 2022

Bolsonaro also made a statement that “as soon as the unfortunate disaster occurred, the Brazilian Navy moved to the site to rescue victims and transport the injured”:

…Bolsonaro said officials would “investigate the causes and circumstances” of the deadly incident.

A diving squad had to pause its search overnight for safety reasons, but other rescuers continued working. Divers resumed their search Sunday.

Here’s the head of the Applied Geology Division of the Brazilian Geological Service, Tiago Antonelli speaking about the natural erosion of the cliff:

“It’s normal to happen in many canyons, even with rocks of that size. But nowadays, with the intensification of tourism, people are starting to get closer to these places and to register these phenomena with their cell phones,” Antonelli said.

He said tourists should heed this tragedy as a warning, and stay at a safe distance when checking out the sites at Lake Furnas.

[source:cbsnews]