2008-05-04 22:51:03 -
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - A boat ferrying at least 80 people home from a party sank in Brazil's Amazon region early Sunday, killing at least 12 and leaving dozens missing, rescue officials said.
The Comandante Sales capsized in a pre-dawn rainstorm on the Solimoes River, one of the Amazon's largest tributaries, Fire Lt. Col.
Raimundo Rodrigues da Silva said. The vessel had been taking passengers home from a party near the jungle city of Manaus.
It was unclear what kind of boat the Comandante Sales was or how many passengers it was equipped to carry. But most boats that move people across the Amazon region are large wooden ferries, sometimes with two stories. The area has few roads.
Rescue workers recovered the bodies of 10 women and two men while several dozen others were unaccounted for, Silva said, noting that it was unlikely the boat had carried a passenger list.
Revelers had rented the boat to travel from their small river town to another for a party, Brazilian media reported.
Investigators were exploring what caused the boat to capsize, but Navy Lt. Raimundo Lenilton de Araujo told the official Agencia Brasil news agency that torrential rains may have been a factor.
At least 80 passengers had been on board when the boat capsized and partially sank, Raimundo said, though other reports said as many as 110.
Amazon boats are frequently overloaded with passengers and cargo, which also may have been a factor on Sunday, Silva said.
Some survivors swam to shore while others were rescued by other boats in the area, local media reported _ although authorities did not know how many survived. Brazil's navy joined about 45 rescue workers, including 15 divers, in searching the area about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state.
The Navy issued a statement saying the boat had been ordered not to travel following an inspection in January because it lacked the proper paperwork and a qualified crew, Agencia Brasil reported. Calls to the Navy's Amazon headquarters went unanswered.
Boat accidents have killed more than two dozen people in Brazil since February, when a two-story wooden ferry carrying more than 100 people collided with a barge loaded with fuel tanks on the Amazon River, killing 16.
In March, a similar boat carrying 12 tourists and a crew of 10 on a wetlands fishing trip sank in the Pantanal area in Mato Grosso state south of the Amazon, killing nine.
Associated Press Writer Alan Clendenning contributed.
