Passengers are adrift after vessel sinks at Encontro das Águas in Manaus Reproduction/Social Media The Amazonas Military Fire Department (CBMAM) reported, this Wednesday (8), that it has suspended the search for the five missing in the wreck of the boat Lima de Abreu XV, which sank on February 13 this year, at Encontro das Águas, in Manaus. According to the corporation, the decision was taken this July after the possibilities of finding new information about the victims had been exhausted. The vessel, operated by the company Lima de Abreu Navegações, left Manaus bound for Nova Olinda do Norte when it sank. In addition to the five missing, the accident left three people dead and 71 survivors were rescued. According to CBMAM, the corporation will remain on alert and may resume operations if evidence emerges that helps locate the missing. ? Join the g1 AM channel on WhatsApp According to firefighters, the searches began on February 13th and continued continuously until March 19th, during which the operation mobilized teams daily for 34 days. From March 20th, the work began to be carried out intermittently, with searches twice a week, and continued until June 30th. Boat sinking leaves 2 dead and 7 missing in Manaus According to CBMAM, during the operation, drones, vessels and sonar equipment were used to read the riverbed. The families of the missing also followed the work of the teams throughout the search. Firefighters also reported that family members of three missing people requested a police report. According to CBMAM, the document, registered in the National Public Security Information System (Sinesp), is the first step in filing a presumed death request in court. The sinking The boat, from the company Lima de Abreu Navegações, left Manaus at around 12:30 pm. During the trip, the vessel sank near Encontro das Águas, a region where the Negro and Solimões rivers meet. Videos recorded by passengers show people, including children, adrift in the water, many wearing life jackets or leaning on rafts as they awaited help. The causes of the accident have not been officially disclosed and remain under investigation. Shortly after the accident, some of the passengers were rescued by vessels sailing through the region. Then a rescue operation was mounted. One of the episodes that drew the most attention during the rescue was the rescue of a premature baby, just five days old, placed inside a cooler. To prevent the newborn from having direct contact with the water, family members placed the child inside the container, which remained adrift until rescue teams found it. The baby's mother, who had traveled to Manaus to give birth, was also saved. Both were taken for medical attention. Witnesses also reported tense moments before the sinking. A passenger stated that she even warned the boat pilot to reduce speed because of the banzeiro, strong waves common in the Encontro das Águas region. In a video recorded while she was adrift, she reported that she had asked the driver to "slow down". Watch below: Passenger on a boat that sank at the Meeting of the Waters in Manaus records video while adrift Who are the victims Among the victims are Samila de Souza, aged 3, Lara Bianca, aged 22 and Fernando Grandêz, aged 39. Samila and Lara's bodies were found hours after the sinking. According to the Amazonas State Department of Health, Samila was taken to the East Zone Children's Emergency Room, but was already lifeless when she was admitted to the unit. To g1, Samila's family informed that she had traveled to Manaus for the first time and was returning to Urucurituba, the city where the boat would stop. Lara Bianca was born in Nova Olinda do Norte and studied dentistry in Manaus. According to friends, she was about to finish her degree. Her body was rescued and taken to the Fire Department's river squad, in the Port of Manaus, and then sent to the Legal Medical Institute (IML). Gospel singer Fernando Grandêz, aged 39, had his body found three days after the wreck during search work in the region. Linked to gospel music, Fernando was a singer and used to participate in religious events held in the capital of Amazonas. The presentations were shared on social media, almost always accompanied by captions expressing faith Pilot becomes defendant The boat pilot, Pedro José da Silva Gama, became a defendant for qualified homicide after the Amazonas Court accepted, on April 24, the complaint presented by the Public Ministry of the State of Amazonas (MPAM). The decision is made by judge Fábio Lopes Alfaia, head of the 2nd Court of the Jury Court of the District of Manaus. Upon receiving the complaint, the magistrate stated that there is proof of the materiality of the crime and sufficient evidence of authorship, which justifies the opening of criminal action. Pedro José da Silva Gama handed himself in to the police on the night of March 16, after spending just over a month on the run. He presented himself at the Specialized Homicide and Kidnapping Police Station (DEHS), where he remained detained. On the day of the accident, the pilot was arrested and initially taken to the 1st Integrated Police District (DIP). After confirmation of the deaths, he was taken to the Specialized Homicide and Kidnapping Police Station (DEHS), but was eventually released after paying bail. The following day, February 14, judge Eliane Gurgel do Amaral Pinto ordered Pedro's preventive detention. The decision aimed to guarantee public order and ensure the application of criminal law. INFOGRAPHIC - Shipwreck in Manaus g1