RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil- A girl died Thursday and at least three more people were injured when a four-story residential building collapsed in Rio de Janeiro, although there may still be more victims in the rubble, according to official sources.
Six firefighting and ambulance teams traveled to the peripheral neighborhood of Rio das Pedras, located in the western area of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, and were working on search and rescue efforts since this morning.
One of the officers of the fire department, Colonel Leandro Monteiro, told reporters that the mortal victim is a girl between 2 and 3 years old. Four people were rescued from the rubble and taken to hospital, although two of them were released hours later.
Firefighters, however, believe there are two more victims inside the collapsed building who are being located.
“It is a very calm job, a lot of patience. Our dogs are helping a lot. We are dealing with information at all times,” the Globo chain told Monteiro
According to the statements of some witnesses, loud noises were heard around 2:00 a.m. local time (12:00 a.m. Mexico City time) and the building collapsed at 3:20 a.m. local time (1:20 a.m. Mexico City time).
A fire has also been registered on the premises and has already been controlled by the fire brigade.
Although the authorities did not report the causes of the collapse, the deputy mayor of the western area of Rio, Thalita Galhardo, did not rule out that the property is an irregular construction, as is often the case with buildings built in that area.
“Unfortunately, the constructions here are not legal and this type of accident ends up happening,” said Galhardo in an interview with the Globo network.
The building that collapsed on Thursday was located in the same region of the Muzema community, also in the peripheral region of Rio das Pedras, where the collapse of two irregularly constructed buildings left 24 dead in April 2019.
