Soldiers and rescue workers flat at the site where a ferry sank in a reservoir in Guatape, Colombia, Sunday, June 25, 2017. Nine people were dead and 28 missing after a tourist ferry packed with around... (Associated Press) 
 
 GUATAPE, Colombia (AP) — A tourist boat packed with about 170 passengers for the holiday weekend capsized Sunday on a reservoir near the Colombian city of Medellin, leaving nine people dead and 28 missing, officials said. 
 
 Rescuers including firefighters from nearby cities and air force pilots were searching for survivors at the Guatape reservoir where the four-story El Almirante ferry sank. A flotilla of recreational boats and jet skis rushed to the scene, pulling people from the boat as it went down and avoiding an even deadlier tragedy. 
 
 Dramatic videos circulating on social media show the turquoise and yellow trimmed party boat rocking back and forth as people crawled down from a fourth-floor roof as it began sinking into the water. 
 
 "Those on the first and second floors sank immediately," a female survivor who wasn't identified by name told Teleantioquia. "The boat was sinking and all we could do was scream and call for help." 
 
 Margarita Moncada, the head of the disaster response agency in Antioquia state, said that according to a preliminary report 99 people were rescued and another 40 managed to find a way to shore on their own and were in good condition. Speaking to reporters from the reservoir, she said nine people had been killed and around 28 are still missing. 
 
 It's unclear what caused the boat to sink but survivors said that it appeared to be overloaded and nobody on board was wearing a life vest. 
 
 Daniel Giraldo, owner of an Italian restaurant in Guatape, said he went to the bay after hearing the sound of ambulances. When he got to the shore people told him the ship had gone under. 
 
 "It sank in a matter of four minutes," he said. 
 
 Next he went to the hospital where he said he saw a baby girl in a wet dress who had been saved but whose mother he was told is missing. 
 
 Authorities were at a loss to say exactly how many people were on the boat and asked passengers or their loved ones to report to a rescue center hastily set up along the shore. They also made a call for scuba divers to assist with the search. 
 
 The reservoir surrounding the soaring rocky outcrop of El Penol is a popular weekend destination a little more than an hour from Medellin. It was especially busy Sunday as Colombians celebrated a long holiday weekend. 
 
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 AP Writers Christine Armario from Bogota, Colombia and Joshua Goodman from Caracas, Venezuela contributed to this report ||||| NBC 6's Laura Rodriguez has the latest on the investigation into the Costa Rica rafting accident that killed four men from Miami and a tour guide. 
 
 Four American tourists and a Costa Rican guide were killed in a weekend rafting accident in the Central American country, authorities said Sunday. 
 
 The men from Miami have been identified as Ernesto Sierra, Jorge Caso, Sergio Lorenzo and Andres Denis. They were in Costa Rica for a bachelor party. 
 
 "What was meant to be a weekend to remember for 14 friends turned into a living nightmare," Chris Comas, who survived the incident, said in a statement. 
 
 Three rafts flipped on the Naranjo river Saturday around 3 p.m. and the five victims were carried away downstream, according to Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organism. Other passengers managed to cling to the rafts and some were rescued by another guide in a kayak. 
 
 4 Miami Men Die in Costa Rica Rafting Accident 
 
 Four men from South Florida who were in Costa Rica as part of a bachelor party died in a rafting accident. (Published Monday, Oct. 22, 2018) 
 
 "Throughout the dangerous ride down the river, all of us struggled to stay above water, swallowing lots of it on the way down as our bodies ricocheted against the rocks in the water while struggling to survive," Comas said. "Most of us were ultimately able to grab hold of rocks or barriers in or around the water and await the rescue teams to get to us." 
 
 The local guide was Kevin Thompson Reid, described by his boss as one of his most-skilled guides. 
 
 All of the victims died from asphyxia as a result of drowning, Walter Espinoza, the director of the Organization of Judicial Investigations, confirmed to NBC 6. 
 
 The case is being investigated as negligent homicide, Espinoza said. The rafting company, Quepoa Expeditions, will also be under investigation. 
 
 In total, there were 14 tourists aboard the rafts and five guides, officials said. Authorities said the river was swollen by rains and the National Emergency Commission maintained an alert in the area due to the possibility of flooding. 
 
 The Americans arrived in Costa Rice Oct. 18 and had been renting a house in Playa Hermosa de Jaco, according to the Costa Rican government. 
 
 Accident Kills 4 Miami Men in Costa Rica for Bachelor Party 
 
 NBC 6's Nestor Mato reports on the deadly rafting accident in Costa Rica. (Published Monday, Oct. 22, 2018) 
 
 The Red Cross said via Facebook that the rafts overturned near Liverpool de Quepos. 
 
 Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado expressed his dismay about the accident on Twitter. 
 
 The U.S. Department of State confirmed the deaths. 
 
 "We are saddened by news of rafting accident in #CostaRica. We can confirm 4 U.S. citizens died as a result of the accident. We extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones, and extend our gratitude to Government of Costa Rica for their support in this tragedy," U.S. Department of State spokesman Heather Nauert wrote on Twitter. 
 
 Friends have set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral costs. 
 
 Copyright Associated Press / NBC 6 South Florida
– A tourist boat packed with about 160 passengers capsized Sunday on a reservoir near the Colombian city of Medellin, leaving at least six people dead and 31 missing, officials said. Rescuers including firefighters and air force pilots in helicopters searched for survivors at the Guatape reservoir where El Almirante ferry sank. A flotilla of recreational boats and jet skis rushed to the scene, pulling people from the boat as it went down and avoiding an even deadlier tragedy, the AP reports. Dramatic videos circulating on social media show the party boat rocking back and forth as people crawled down from a fourth-floor roof as it began sinking into the water. "Those on the first and second floors sank immediately," a female survivor told Teleantioquia. "The boat was sinking and all we could do was scream and call for help." Survivors described hearing a loud explosion near the men's bathroom that knocked out power a few minutes after the boat began its cruise around the lake. It's unclear what caused the boat to sink, but survivors said that it appeared to be overloaded and nobody on board was wearing a life vest. After arriving at the scene, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said 122 people were either rescued or found their way to shore, but six had died and another 31 were missing, he told reporters.