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Dozens missing after tourist boat sinks in Colombia
By Matt Rehbein, From CNN
(CNN) Efforts to find 31 people still missing after a tourist boat capsized in northwest Colombia have been suspended overnight due to thunderstorms.
At least six people died in the incident which occurred near the town of Guatape, roughly 45 kilometers (28 miles) east of Medellin, one of Colombia’s biggest cities.
Colombian officials originally said nine people had died, but later lowered the figure to six. Around 122 of the 170 or so people on board have been rescued.
The boat, emblazoned with the name El Almirante, started taking on water while transporting passengers in a reservoir.
Video on social media shows the multi-tiered tour boat tilt from one side to the other before the lower deck submerges.
The search for those still missing will resume at first light, said Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos, during a visit to the scene Sunday night.
The Colombian leader said the focus now was on rescuing survivors, and that questions about why the boat sank would come later.
“At the moment we have no information to establish why it sank,” he said.
President Santos said that, based on information provided to him, the boat wasn’t overcrowded.
Lorena Salazar, a survivor of the incident, told CNN affiliate CableNoticias that there were no life vests on board the tourist vessel.
The Colombian Air Force said it deployed a helicopter to help with the rescue operation.
IMAGES:
Tourist boat El Almirante is seen taking on water in the Guatape, Antioquia on June 25, 2017.
Survivors are taken to shore from the capsized boat on June 25, 2017.
As night fell, the search was suspended due to thunderstorms.
For more on this story go to: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/25/world/tourist-boat-sinks-colombia/index.html
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