Increase of 14 deaths from avalanches in Rio de Janeiro

The rescue teams found four more victims on Sunday and up to 14 people. The balance sheet of a landslide occurred Saturday in a hill in Niterói, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, after days of heavy rains.

The tragedy occurred early Saturday when a huge stone fell and hit at least nine houses and a pizzeria on the slope of Cerro Boa Esperança, in the Piratininga district.

The rescue teams arrived at the site even at dawn and until Saturday evening, eleven people were found alive, while four were still missing until they reached the scene. were found dead at dawn on Sunday, according to information collected in the community.

Eleven others were rescued Saturday and six of them were still hospitalized in a nearby hospital.

"It has been a lot of fun for the last two days, Niterói was in a state of attention and warning (…) The communities were made aware of this situation by the recommendation to find safe places where live, "said Roberto Robadey, commander of the fire department, Globo News.

About 200 soldiers, including firefighters and members of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police, are working tirelessly to search for traces of missing persons in the rubble, with the voluntary help of neighbors and spectators on the scene. site, a hill of precarious homes, often built on unstable ground.

– "It was going to happen" –

The mayor of Niterói, Rodrigo Neves, who was in Spain to participate in an event of smart cities, explained Saturday in a phone interview with local press that the region "had not been diagnosed as a geological hazard mapping at high risk ". of the Government of Rio de Janeiro.

However, the president of the neighborhood association of the community of Boa Esperança, Cláudio dos Santos, said that one of the houses had already been closed some time ago due to the risk of collapse .

"At that time, I brought the Civil Defense to isolate the house.However, it is difficult with the residents.They do not want to leave.I have even announced yesterday that I m ​​39; worried for this rain, but what happened, "said Santos on Saturday, interviewed by Globo News.

The commander of the fire department explained that, according to preliminary information, not all houses were occupied at the time of impact.

In April 2010, also in Niterói (city connected to Rio de Janeiro by a large bridge), nearly fifty people died in the favela of Morro do Bumba in an avalanche caused by heavy rains that left more than 52,000 evacuees throughout the state.