Another Mudslide Kills 10 In
Rio; Total Death Toll Hits 154
RIO DE JANEIRO - A major mudslide in the
city of Niteroi, in Rio de Janeiro's metro
area, killed 10 people, raising the death
toll in this week's storms in the region to
154, authorities said on Thursday.
The mudslide, the worst since the storms
started, occurred on late Wednesday in the
Morro do Bumba neighborhood. According to
the authorities, some 200 people lived in
the destroyed area, but it is not known how
many were home when the tragedy struck. So
far, the rescue teams managed to rescue 56
people from the site.
Civil Defense Subsecretary and Fire
Department Commandant Pedro Machado said
that the rescue teams do not expect to find
anyone else alive after so many hours, as
the mud takes all spaces, suffocating the
victims.
According to the authorities, the Morro do
Bumba region used to be a landfill, which
was deactivated about two decades ago.
Because of that, there is risk of
contamination for the rescue teams and
rescue efforts are taking a longer time.
Since Monday, at least 160 people were
injured in the floods and mudslides which
paralyzed Rio's metro area. Over 15,000
people had to leave their homes; out of
those, at least 3,200 had no place to go and
were taken to shelters at schools, churches
and sports centers.
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