A fire hit a vessel in the early hours of Saturday (27), in Rio Negro, in front of the Santa Maria community, in Amazonas. The crew members were forced to jump into the water to escape the fire. In all, 59 people were rescued and 7 remain missing. It is not yet known if there were any deaths.
A video shared on social media shows the moment of the rescue.
Watch:
The vessel left a port in Manaus and was on its way to the municipality of Santa Isabel do Rio Negro, in the interior of the state. The fire started on the upper deck and spread to the passengers’ luggage.
Teams from the Amazonas Military Fire Department (CBMAM), Amazonas Military Police (PMAM) and Mobile Emergency Care Service (Samu) were activated to rescue passengers.
The governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima, informed on social networks that the victims have already been transferred to hospitals in the capital.
“Our teams are working to rescue the victims of the fire that occurred in a speedboat that left Manaus for Santa Isabel do Rio Negro. The injured are already being transferred to hospitals in the capital and I have determined that all assistance be given to the families.”
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