At Least 9 Dead in Brazil Ship Collision

by The Associated Press | February 21, 2008 at 11:05 am | 718 views | 2 comments

Nine people have been found dead and up to twenty were reported missing Thursday when a ferryboat with more than 100 passengers sank to the bottom of the Amazon river after colliding with a barge carrying fuel tanks, officials said. Four of the victims were children, four were women and one was a man, said Lieutenant Clovis Araujo, a spokesman for the fire department of Manaus, capital of Amazonas state.

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UPDATE | 13:02 EST --

At least three people died, and another 20 were missing and feared dead. Lt. Clovis Araujo said The Almirante Monteiro capsized at dawn near the isolated Brazilian town of Itacoatiara in the jungle state of Amazonas.

He said 92 people were rescued by a nearby floating police station and several small boats.

Araujo said rescue teams recovered the bodies of one woman and two children and are searching for another 20 passengers who we fear have also drowned.

He said he did not know how many people were on the barge, but "no one was hurt and the barge was not damaged."

Many of the missing were likely passengers who were asleep in cabins inside the two-storey wooden vessel and were unable to get out before the boat sank, state public safety department spokesman Aguinaldo Rodrigues said.

"As far as we can tell, just about all the survivors were passengers sleeping in hammocks on the deck," Rodrigues said.

Rodriguez said it was too early to determine the causes of the accident, but "visibility was very poor" at the time of the collision during the lunar eclipse that began Wednesday night.

The survivors were taken to the small town of Novo Remanso and sheltered in the local church. They were to be taken by helicopter to the state capital of Manaus.

PREVIOUSLY:

Associated Press - The Almirante Monteiro capsized at dawn Thursday near the remote town of Itacoatiara in the jungle state of Amazonas, said Lt.Clovis Araujo, spokesman for the state's fire department.
He said 92 people were rescued by a nearby floating police station and several small boats.
"Rescue teams are still searching for another 20 passengers who we fear have drowned," he said. "The chances of finding them alive are remote."

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The Associated Press

at 11:09 on February 21st, 2008

news wanted:

I think this is an important story and would benefit from other NowPublic contributors working on it. I've flagged it as News Wanted and invite others in relevant locations to look for more evidence.

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at 14:18 on February 21st, 2008

UPDATE | 13:17pm EST - Report that 9 bodies have been recovered --

Regional police Colonel Arnaldo Ribeiro said 92 people from the boat were rescued after it sank following a collision with the smaller vessel.

Survivors said panicked passengers jumped overboard as the boat, the Almirante Montero, rapidly slipped under the surface of the fast-flowing river.

The fate of the occupants of the dinghy was not immediately known.

"We have up to now recovered nine bodies, including those of four children," Colonel Ribeiro said. "There are at least 11 people missing."

The regional head of the fire service, Colonel Antonio Dias, said that access to the area was difficult and communications between the rescue personnel was proving "very complicated".