RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Rescuers searched Sunday for nine passengers from a tourist schooner that capsized and sank, killing at least 12 people, naval authorities said.
The Tona Galea was carrying 64 people, mostly Brazilians, on a day trip to Parrot Island when it sank Satuday about 500 yards offshore from the port city of Cabo Frio, 60 miles east of Rio de Janeiro.
Survivors said the schooner rolled over after being hit on the left side by a large wave. Passengers panicked and rushed to the opposite side, which may have helped tip the schooner over, they said.
“A wave hit one side, it turned us over, then I didn’t see anything else,” said Juliana Garcia, a survivor.
Crew members had prohibited passengers from wearing life jackets, Garcia told local TV station GloboNews. It was unclear why the crew would have done so, and the report could not immediately be confirmed.
Survivors told how some of the passengers were trapped under the hull of the sinking vessel.
Some boats in the region at the time refused to pick up the passengers, and simply carried on with their trips, another survivor said.
Conditions at the time were reported to be fine, with light winds and a moderate swell. The ship can carry up to 78 passengers and and a crew of two, according to a navy statement, It was last inspected in December and was found to be in “perfect condition” with a qualified crew.
The captain of the vessel, Norberto Guimaraes da Silveira, was rescued but has now disappeared, authorities said.
The captain had “vast experience” and was well known in the region, state tourism secretary Carlos Victor Mendes told local radio station CBN. He said all other schooner trips had been suspended.
So far, the bodies of 11 women and a child, all of whom drowned, had been recovered and were taken to the local medical institute. There were unofficial reports that at least one more body had been found.
The schooner is part of the Coopnav De Cabo Frio tourism cooperative that runs 13 boats out of Cabo Frio.
Many local tourists traveled to Cabo Frio for the long Easter weekend, which ends Tuesday.
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