12 die in Brazil boat sinking

Rio De Janeiro: At least 12 people died, 50 injured and 20 went missing when their boat sank in the Ariri river in the heart of the Amazonian region early on Friday, official reports said. Over 80 people were on board when the accident occurred at early morning at some 500 metres from Cachoeira do Arari port in Brazil`s northern state of Para, reported Xinhua citing fire brigade officials. At least five of the victims were children, according to the fire brigade, that was taking part in the rescue works along with two patrol boats and two speedboats from Brazil`s Navy as well as several divers` teams. IANS