Colombian President Santos: Boat sinking death toll lowered to six

World
Europe

Updated at 11:14 a.m. BJT

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has revised the death toll down to six after a boat sank near the northwestern city of Guatape, after regional officials had earlier said nine people were killed, reported AFP.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (C) is interviewed after arriving at the scene where the tourist boat Almirante sank in the Reservoir of Penol in Guatape municipality in Antioquia on June 25, 2017. /VCG Photo

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Santos said there are "six people deceased so far and 31 reported missing."

Carlos Ivan Marquez, an official in the National Risk Management Unit, confirmed to AFP the death toll of six and said the dead were "all Colombians, and no minors".

Onlookers watch rescue efforts after the tourist boat Almirante sank in the Reservoir of Penol in Guatape municipality in Antioquia on June 25, 2017. /VCG Photo

Updated at 09:34 a.m. BJT

The number of people killed in the Colombia boat sinking has risen to nine and 28 are still missing, reports local media RCN Radio.

So far five bodies have been found and 99 people were immediately rescued. Another 40 people were able to bring themselves to safety, according to Margarita María Moncada Zapata, director in charge of the Administrative Department of Prevention, Attention and Disaster Recovery (DAPARD).

Moncada Zapata stressed that 28 are still missing, according to reports given by friends and family members.

She added that there were likely to have been 170 people on board the boat, named "The Admiral".

24 people have been sent to hospital, and 13 of them remain under observation.

Relief agencies are still conducting a rescue operation with the support of the Air Force, Army, Police and local authorities, and relatives and people close to the missing have arrived at the scene.

Updated at 08:04 a.m. BJT

At least three died and 30 remain missing after a boat sank in a reservoir in northwestern Colombia on Sunday, Colombian police said.

President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter the air force and emergency services were deploying to deal with the emergency in Guatape.

"We are ready to provide the assistance required," he wrote.

"We have a full operation underway. According to the company, 150 people were on board. The rescue operation includes the Interior Ministry, air force, army and police. The boat 'El Almirante' (The Admiral) did not crash into another, it just sank," Victoria Eugenia Ramirez, secretary of the government of Antioquia, told media.

According to preliminary reports, the boat was at full (passenger) capacity, due to the fact that during holiday long weekends, thousands of tourists visit the town, RCN Radio reported.

Video footage of the accident shows the ship going down and dozens of other vessels approaching it to try to rescue people.

"It sank extremely quickly. It all happened in a few minutes," said a fire service captain involved in the rescue effort, Luis Bernardo Morales.

What caused the boat sinking remains unknown.

"What we have seen in the videos is that the boat was very close to the port – and we do not know whether it was a mechanical failure, an overloading or something to do with the currents that caused it to sink."

Rescued people were being sent to local hospital in Guatape, according to an official with the Antioquia government.

14761km