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Sao Paulo: Rescue workers are resuming their search for victims of a deadly collision between a ferryboat and barge that killed at least 13 people in the jungle state of Amazonas.
More than 100 people were on the two-storey ferryboat when it sank in the Amazon River on Thursday. Ninety-two passengers were rescued alive and the fire department says up to six people are missing and feared dead.
Authorities said police and fire service teams, aided by locals, were looking for six people missing after the accident.
The boat, the Almirante Montero, was carrying around 110 people. It sank quickly as passengers threw themselves into the water, near Novo Remanso, a riverside hamlet close to the town of Itacoatiara.
The toll from the tragedy could have been much higher, according to local fire service commander Antonio Dias.
A police patrol was nearby when the collision occurred, and its officers were able to quickly get most of the passengers who fell into the water to safety.
One woman said she was woken by the shock of the collision.
"Everybody started quickly running from one side of the boat to the other and there were even some who threw themselves in the water. I lost everything I had with me," she told a radio station in Manaus, 180 kilometres away.
According to Brazilian officials, the Almirante Montero was authorised to carry up to 165 passengers.
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