VIDEO: Horrific footage of rockfall onto pleasure boats

A towering slab of rock broke from a cliff and toppled on to boaters drifting near a waterfall on a Brazilian lake last Saturday, leaving 10 people dead.

At least 32 people were injured, according to The Guardian.

Video, shared by the Daily Mail shows a gathering of small boats moving slowly near the sheer rock cliff on Furnas Lake.

Furnas Lake is a popular tourist draw in the area roughly 420km (260 miles) north of São Paulo. The state of Minas Gerais has been experiencing heavy rains that have forced almost 17,000 people out of their homes due to flooding, according to the state civil defence.

Officials suggested that the earlier rains could have contributed to the wall coming loose.

Andréia Mendonça, watched in horror from her speedboat. She told Globo: “We stopped, took pictures and it was time for everyone to take their place and start to leave.

“I looked up at the rock and some pebbles were falling. I even made a comment to the boat’s pilot and he said it was nothing, but just a few pebbles.’

“When I looked again, that huge rock was already falling, that huge piece of rock. I looked at the many boats below and a horrible scene.

“The pilot left as fast as he could get us out of there. Very sad, I never imaged we would witness such a scene.”

Main image courtesy of Minas Gerais Fire Department.