The Iguazú Falls, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, were the scene of a tragedy. A 26-year-old Dutch tourist died this Tuesday after the boat he was on for a tour capsized. It is one of the most sought-after options for tourists visiting the national park on the Brazilian side: boarding one of the boats that get as close as possible to the area where the falls break, to feel the roar of the water up close.
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Around noon, one of those boats capsized with its eight occupants on board: six Dutch tourists and two Brazilian crew members. They were not swept away by the current and all were rescued alive by the park teams. However, one of them suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest and although he was taken by ambulance to the municipal hospital of Foz de Iguazú, it was soon confirmed that he had died.
Two other Dutch tourists, a 48-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman, were hospitalized. She was treated for a foot fracture, and he remains under observation, although no further details about his health condition have been released. According to the Brazilian press, the young man who died was traveling with his girlfriend, his sister, and her parents and sister.
Civil Police and Navy officers went to the park to open an investigation. The private company responsible for the boat is Macuco Safari, which has had permission to organize tours in the national park for 40 years. According to Brazilian authorities, all documentation was in order. In a statement, the company regretted the young man’s death and assured that it is providing assistance to the victims and cooperating with the investigation. Nautical excursions have been suspended for three days, although the park, with all its paths and viewpoints, remains open as usual.
Nothing is clear yet about the causes of the accident. At the moment the boat capsized, the falls had a flow of 4.3 million liters of water per second, when the average is 1.5 million. However, so far it has not been proven that this was the trigger for the tragedy.
The Iguazú Falls National Park is one of Brazil’s main tourist attractions and a World Heritage Site since the 1980s. In 2025, more than two million people visited the Brazilian side, 9% more than the previous year, a historic record of tourists. Last June, a Brazilian tourist almost caused another dramatic scene: ignoring the most obvious prohibition, he went down from one of the walkways for visitors that run along the river a few meters before the great drop to retrieve his mobile phone, which had fallen into the water. He rescued it and returned to the viewpoint safe and sound, although he was reprimanded by the firefighters and expelled from the park.
