After more than two days of searching, all of the missing people were found by troops, including five underage girls and an adult; they had suffered the collision of two boats in the waters of the Magdalena River near the municipality of Tolú, in Magangué, department of Bolívar.
The last body belonging to a minor under 10 years old was found by people in the Barbosa sector, 17 kilometers from the accident site. Like the other bodies, she was taken initially to Magangué and later to the city of Cartagena, to carry out the legal procedures of identification by forensic medicine.
The search and rescue operations that led to the recovery of the bodies were carried out by units of the River Navy Battalion No.17 of the Colombian Navy, in coordination with the Colombian Red Cross, Civil Defense, Firefighters of Magangué, National Risk Management Unit, the National Police and the support of 14 fishing canoes in the region.
During the operation, with the support of the inhabitants, the passenger boat that had sunk was refloated and towed with the cargo ship to San Sebastián de Buenavista, where it was put into custody of the authorities.
The Colombian Navy will continue to permanently carry out river patrols to safeguard human life in the territorial waters of the Navy Infantry Brigade No.1, and invites communities to report any emergency to telephone line 146, as well as to implement river safety standards, the use of life jackets and review of communication equipment.
Source: press-Colombian Navy
