BOGOTA, 26 June (BelTA - Xinhua) - At least nine people were dead and 28 others went missing after a tour boat with some 170 passengers onboard capsized Sunday afternoon in northwest Colombia.
Officials did not yet say what caused the ship called "Almirante" to go down in the Penol-Guatape reservoir in the tourist town of Guatape, in Colombia's northwest department of Antioquia.
"At the moment we officially have nine people who have been found dead," and "approximately 28 people reported missing," said Margarita Moncada, head of the disaster prevention department of the Antioquia regional government.
She said the boat was carrying 170 people, most of whom were rescued by other boats or escaped by themselves.
Eduardo Rivera, who is in charge of a state-run hospital in the town of Guatape, said another 15 people were injured and recovering at the facility. Colombian air force helicopters were dispatched and stood ready to evacuate the most seriously injured.
The Almirante, a four-deck vessel, was taking visitors on a tour of the reservoir, located 80 km east of Medellin, when it began to tilt sideways, then gradually sank.
