12 killed after two boats hit in Amazon rainforest

At least 12 people have died and around 50 are still missing after a landslide struck two boats docked at a river port in Peru’s Amazon rainforest region, local media reports.

The landslide sank a ferry and seriously damaged another passenger vessel that had dozens of people on board, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

It happened at around 05:00 local time (10:00 GMT) as passengers were set to disembark at Iparia, in the country’s central Ucayali region on Monday.

The injured have been taken to hospital while national police and the Peruvian Navy look for more survivors. It is feared that children are among the missing.

The landslide was caused by “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali River – the headwater of the Amazon – the country’s National Emergency Operations Center said on X.

Some 50 people were on board one of the boats, according to news agency AFP.

Rescue operations have been hindered by the fast-flowing river waters, a navy official told AFP.

Children, teachers and doctors were among the passengers, the Reuters news agency reports, citing Andina.

Authorities are working with families gathered at the scene of the disaster to try to determine exactly how many people still need to be found.

One of the boats had departed Pucallpa to the north on Sunday and was travelling towards the riverside communities of Caco Macaya, Curiaca del Caco, and Pueblo Nuevo del Caco, local media reports.