Sinking in the Paraná: admit that they are looking "at the bottom of the river" – 16/07/2018

The hopes of finding alive the four young people who disappeared by turning a canoe in the Paraná River – the sinking made one dead and three people were saved – have disappeared over the hours. Prefect Gustavo Santucci, responsible for raking, admitted that they were looking "at the bottom of the river" .

The tragedy occurred this Sunday at 1:30 pm when a boat was returning from an island of Entre Ríos to the town of Pueblo Esther, near Rosario, where it was discovered. returned with eight people on board. The overweight of the canoe and the bad sailing conditions (very windy) would have triggered the fatal accident .

According to the ongoing judicial investigation, a group of seven friends aged 29 to 33 years rented a fishing boat from the area to return from the island where they had camped Saturday night. They had gone to the place to celebrate the birthday of one of the pbadengers who is still missing. The owner of the canoe, aged 38, is one of four missing.

The three survivors were released in the last hours. They were rescued by other fishing vessels within minutes of sinking. Prosecutor Mariana Prunotto, in charge of the investigation, could not for the moment take a testimony statement for "the state of shock" in which she finds herself. "What they told us, they saw how their companions disappeared from the surface," says Prefect Santucci.

The prosecutor discusses two hypotheses on the causes of the wreck: a few damage to the ship – which has not yet been found – or "imprudence" of the vessel to navigate an "artisbad canoe overloaded and with poor weather conditions". Due to the characteristics of the boat, it is estimated that it carried more pbadengers than allowed.

It was also confirmed that the boat was not registered and that its owner did not have the corresponding rating. Relief efforts intensified from this morning, but with negative results.

"C is a secondary navigation channel with a depth of ten meters, it is a high current area, it is not an easy area to search and less easy for the divers' task, "concluded Santucci.

The tragedy struck and dismayed the whole municipality of Alvear, from which were born the friends. The communal leader Joel De Genaro declared that the city is "destroyed" by the sinking. "The truth that we are very hurt, very sad, affects us all.It was a birthday that they had gone to celebrate and unfortunately it happened.I know them all, with some of them. among them I shared a school. Young children, with a life ahead, "he told tears in statements to Channel 3.

Rosario. Corresponsalía