Search resumes for five missing on Guatemala's Lake Atitlan

Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Guatemalan rescuers resumed the search early Thursday for five people missing after turbulent waters in Lake Atitlan sank a boat, killing three others.

Firefighters, navy, and police restarted the search at sunrise and are looking for Gaspar Sosof, Haroldo Gomez, Francisca Tacaxoy, Adrian Molina and Wendy Meletz, all missing since the boat crash Wednesday, Guatemalan news website Soy502 reported.

Prensa Libre newspaper identified on Wednesday the deceased as Ana Maria Mucun, Edgar Castanon, and Elda Zarazua. It said at that time that four were missing, and identified Adrian Molina as a local doctor.

The boat carrying 17 people was traveling about 3 miles from Panajachel, about 85 miles west of Guatemala City, but faced turbulent waters and wind that combined to capsize the boat, Prensa Libre reported.

None of the victims was a foreigner, authorities said.

According to Prensa Libre, the phenomenon that sank the boat, called Xocomil, involves heavy winds that can easily topple watercraft. It is caused by a combination of different wind temperatures and air pressures and typically occurs around midday, Prensa Libre reported, citing Alex Guerra, director of the Climate Change institute.

"Sometimes it can get so turbulent that it seems that one is in the ocean," he said. This occurs because high-speed wind is trapped in an area locked by mountains and volcanos, Guerra said.