MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

At least 22 killed as speedboat sinks in Brazilian state of Pará

The search continues “until all those sought by family members are located,” according to government sources.

Brazilian authorities Sunday confirmed two more bodies had been retrieved after a boat sank Thursday morning near Cotijuba Island, in Belém, but it was not until this weekend that the accident has been reported.

It was an irregular inter-municipal transport with no passengers manifesto. Hence, the exact number of casualties remains undetermined. The boat had departed from a clandestine port in Cachoeira do Arari, in the Marajó archipelago, heading for Belém, the state government explained.

Search and those operations resumed early Sunday when two more bodies were found, the Pará Public Safety Secretariat (Segup-PA) said. The number of corpses found so far amounts to 22.

The body of a woman had been sighted from a helicopter Sunday morning. Shortly afterward, another body, whose gender was not confirmed, was removed from inside the sinking ship.

So far, 13 women, 5 men, 3 children, and one unidentified person have died. Of the total, 15 bodies were transferred to Marajó, and five were handed over to relatives in Belém.

Sixty-five people survived the shipwreck. All of them were rescued in the first hours after the boat sank. According to the government of Pará, they received psychosocial assistance and gave statements to the authorities.

Nine vessels from the state security forces, a helicopter from the Para Public Security Air Group, as well as two boats and a Navy aircraft were involved in the rescue operations.

The search continues “until all those sought by family members are located,” according to government sources.

The Civil Police opened an inquiry into the wreck. The people responsible for the Dona Lourdes II speedboat have not yet been found.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)