"Unauthorised boat" sinks off Para, a northern Brazilian state, drowning 14 people with another 26 still unaccounted for, officials say.
In all, 70 people were on the boat, 30 of them rescued alive, officials say.
(TRTWorld)
An illegal passenger boat has sunk along Brazil's northern coast, drowning at least 14 people with another 26 still unaccounted for, officials said.
Local media carried images of rescuers on Thursday using a canoe to bring victims to shore near Belem, the capital of Para state, and bodies laid out on the beach with sheets draped over them.
The boat's owner had recently had another vessel suspended for operating illegally, but continued running this one without authorisation, said Para state Governor Helder Barbalho.
"This was a clandestine vessel. The owner had been notified three times by regulators and the navy for operating another boat without a license. That vessel's operations were suspended, but he got hold of another one and continued operating, and this tragedy happened," he said.
'Horrific tragedy'
"We have been mobilised since we got the news, working to find those who haven't been located yet," he added, saying the state government had set up a crisis team to oversee the search.
He said the authorities would "act firmly" to bring those responsible for the "horrific tragedy" to justice.
In all, 70 people were on the boat, 30 of them rescued alive, state officials said in a statement.
"The vessel was not authorised for inter-city passenger transport... and made the journey departing from a clandestine port in the area of Camara," a settlement across the Marajo Bay from Belem, it said.
A police helicopter and 11 rescue boats, two of them carrying specialised divers, were aiding the search effort, it said.
Source: AFP
