Motorboats rush to the rescue as a packed Colombia tourist ferry sinks
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A packed Colombia tourist ferry has sunk while crossing the Penol-Guatape reservoir.
Videos posted on social media showed motorboats coming to the aid of passengers on the upper decks as the boat rocked from side to side.
Boat sunk in Penol reservoir, #Columbia;. No clash with other vessel. https://t.co/sQgvb9tJtk; pic.twitter.com/8RYWjydysW
— NieuwsBlog (@nieuwsblog) 25. Juni 2017
At least six people died and 31 are still missing.
Around 120 were rescued.
Witnesses were impressed with the speed at which other boats went to help.
“All the boats that were here started dashing out to get to the people and they brought back some who looked in really bad shape. Of course, out of desperation the people climbed on top of each other to try and get out .
So there were a lot of injured people, battered, I’d say and we saw how they brought out several who were unconscious,” said one witness.
Members of Colombia’s airforce were also mobilised and appeared quickly at the scene.
A second witness said: “Truthfully, it was incredible to see all of the survivors being brought to safety. Everyone pulled together and started to help. Although it must have been distressing for such a thing to happen on a boat trip.”
The large reservoir which is about an hour from the central city of Medellin, is a popular tourist destination. It’s unknown what caused the boat to sink but survivors said they heard a loud noise just before hand.
The also said that not everyone had life jackets. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos President has launched an investigation.