14-Year-Old Boy Among 10 Victims of Deadly Cliff Collapse in Brazil; Tragedy Caused by Heavy Rains
Brazilian police have identified the tenth victim of canyon collapse last Saturday when a massive stone cliff face collapsed onto tourist boats in Capitolio.
The identity of the last victim, Geovany Gabriel Oliveira da Silva, 14, was revealed by Minas Gerais police on Monday afternoon after they discovered three more bodies. Initially, it was thought that seven people had died on Saturday, with three others still missing.
According to reports from a Brazilian newspaper, all of the victims knew each other because some were part of the same family and others were friends.
The incident injured 32 people, nine of whom were seriously injured. Many of those admitted to the hospital have broken bones, and at least one person has suffered head and facial injuries. Some have exposed fractures, and at least three are critically ill.
Deadly Cliff Collapse
Andréia Mendonça, a survivor of the Brazil cliff collapse, told her boat captain that she noticed a few pebbles falling into the water moments before tragedy struck. But he shrugged it off as other tourists snapped photos, Mendonca told local officials.
A widely shared media platforms video showed a large cliff fragment breaking free from a ravine and plunging onto tourist boats in the lake. When the large piece of rock fell into the water, it struck four boats.
A friend of one of the victims, Ramilton Rodrigues, was waiting for the bodies to arrive at the forensic institute with family members. The man in mourning told Agence France-Presse that his friend would have turned 25 this Sunday but was killed a day earlier.
Officials had issued a warning the day before to avoid the area's waterfalls, which could have been damaged by raging waters.
Meteorologist Estael Sias told AFP that there is "certainly a relationship" between the heavy rains and the cliff collapsing.
"The long and grueling rains did indeed caused an infiltration of water in the rocks, causing rocks to move and the cliff face to fall," he explained. "A huge amount of rain coming down the in the region's waterfalls, putting great pressure on the rocks."
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Heavy Rains Become Fatal
In the Southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, 19 people were killed after heavy rains since early October, which warned of more intense downpours in the region.
According to the State Coordinator of Civil Defense, the storm victims, including an 11-year-old girl, died on Sunday and Monday as a result of rains, flooding, and landslides.
Another victim was a family of five, carrying a couple, their three and six-year-old children, as well as another relative, were traveling by car in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan region when a landslide buried their car.
The Regional Civil Defense added that more than 13,000 people were forced to leave their homes.
Heavy rain is expected over the next 10 days, which "unfortunately could mean more disasters," according to Sias.
Less rain is expected in the second half of January, but February and March will continue to experience heavy rainfalls.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Jess Smith
WATCH: Brazil Cliff Collapse Kills At Least 10 - NBC News