Colombia tourist boat sinks with 170 onboard, Six dead

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Colombia tourist boat sinks with 170 onboard, Six dead
Colombia tourist boat sinks with 170 onboard, Six dead

Colombia Guatape tourist boat sinks killing several people.

Rescue workers are searching for as many as 13 people believed to be missing after a tourist boat sank yesterday in a reservoir in north-central Colombia, killing seven people.

The cause of the accident was still unclear, officials said.

Use of the Penol-Guatape reservoir, a popular site for water-sports and tours, was restricted as the search continued.

The boat, El Almirante, was carrying 170 passengers and three crew members, said Margarita Moncada, the head of disaster relief for Antioquia province.

Authorities were also unsure if all the people reported to be on the boat had actually been on board, she added.

Officials initially reported nine people dead and 28 missing, but Ms Moncada said some survivors rescued by private boats were taken to different docks on the reservoir shore and so were not immediately accounted for.

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.

Survivors told local television they heard a loud noise before the boat began to sink.

It is a long holiday weekend in the Andean country and the reservoir is a well-known destination for families.

Officials were interviewing the captain and investigating allegations by some passengers that they did not have life-jackets, Vice Transport Minister Alejandro Maya told journalists at the scene.

President Juan Manuel Santos visited rescue crews at the reservoir, about an hour’s drive from the city of Medellin, last night.

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