A rock collapse in a canyon in the mining town of Capitol Hill left at least two dead and 32 injured, officials said.
Images from the time of the accident show a large portion of the site’s slope breaking free and hitting at least three boats in the water.
In an interview with CNN, the geologist and professor of the Postgraduate Program in Environmental Science (PROCAM) at USP, Pedro Luiz Côrtes, commented that the phenomenon seen is rare to be witnessed, but it occurs naturally.
“We have a very steep slope in the canyon, with sedimentary rocks – as if it were sand consolidated over millions of years. This type of material is very susceptible to climatic issues: rain, sun, temperature variation”, he points out.
“Gradually this material is falling apart. The wall is naturally fractured. This allows water penetration [das chuvas], which causes these fractures to be enlarged. So you create a decoupling of the rock columns. And with time, these columns decay”, he added.
The professor explains that because people do not often witness this phenomenon, people do not have the dimension of the danger to which they are subject.
“It remembers a lot what happens on the edges of glaciers”, comments Pedro Côrtes.
He mentions the Los Glaciares National Park, in the Patagonia region of Argentina, where the glaciers are open to visitors.
“Tour teams do not approach the glacier precisely because of this type of problem. You have the collapse of large blocks of ice, which can cause serious injuries or lead to people’s death due to the direct impact or the movement of water caused”, said the professor.
“A safe distance must always be kept”, he adds.
Reference: CNN Brasil
