Nine crew members of sunken barge feared dead after collision

Nine people are feared dead after a tug pushing barges down the Amazon River collided with the "Mercosul Santos" on August 2, 2017, at around 4 a.m. in the morning, resulting in the tug and some of the nine barges it was pushing sinking near the town of Óbidos in Pará. A total of 11 crew members were on board the tug and barges before the ship struck, with the initial impact breaking one of the barges in half and causing it to sink 35 metres to the bottom of the river. The "Mercosul Santos"¸ one of four vessels operated by the Brazilian cabotage company Mercosul Line, was heading up river to the port of Manaus. A team from the fire department, including divers, came from the city of Santarém in the western part of the state of Pará to look for the missing tug boat crew members. Police are also investigating the incident to determine which party is at fault. Mercosul Line said it was also investigating the accident.