Divers in Colombia search for people missing after tourist boat sinks

GUATAPE, COLOMBIA—Scuba divers on Monday continued searching for bodies in a reservoir near the Colombian city of Medellin where a tourist boat packed with more than 150 passengers capsized, leaving at least seven people dead and 13 missing.
After suspending their search overnight due to a lightning storm, scuba divers by mid-morning Monday had pulled a seventh body from the underwater wreckage. Authorities were also turning their attention to the causes of the sinking and whether the company that owned the boat named El Almirante contributed to the accident.
A flotilla of recreational boats and jet skis had rushed to the scene, pulling people from the boat as it went down and avoiding an even deadlier tragedy.

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Dramatic videos circulating on social media show the turquoise-and-yellow-trimmed party boat rocking back and forth as people crawled down from a fourth-deck roof as it sank in a matter of minutes. Survivors described hearing a loud explosion near the men’s bathroom that knocked out power a few minutes after the boat began its cruise around the giant lake. As water flooded on board, pressure built and people were sucked under by the sinking ship.

Read more: At least 6 dead, 31 missing after tourist boat sinks in Colombia
“Those on the first and second decks sank immediately,” survivor Lorena Salazar told local media. “All we could do was scream and call for help ... it was completely chaotic.”

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Colombia tourist boat goes from party to sinking in minutes

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Rescue officials gather to take part in a search for survivors after the tourist boat Almirante sank in the Reservoir of Penol in Guatape municipality in Antioquia June 25, 2017. (Photo: Joaquin Sarmiento, AFP/Getty Images)

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As night fell, the usually festive town was silent as people began to register the magnitude of the loss. Among those huddled under the rain near the port looking for information about loved ones was Alberto Villegas, who was separated from a cousin and uncle in the mad rush to abandon the sinking ship.

“All we ask is that they don’t give up the search,” said Ville

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