At least two people died and two others were seriously injured this Saturday after the collapse of a 12-story building onto a house in the city of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, due to the heavy rains that have been affecting the area, local authorities reported.
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“A total of four victims so far, of which, unfortunately, two died at the scene and two were urgently transferred to the emergency service in Tatuapé,” reported the Fire Department of the Military Police of the State of São Paulo on social media during the early morning.
According to initial investigations, 11 members of a Bolivian family were inside their home when the collapse of a neighboring building under construction occurred.
There were no residents yet in the latter, but two bricklayers used to sleep there, although there is still no information on whether they might be among the possible affected.
The fatalities are two women, one of whom was pregnant, while among the injured, a man and a child were urgently taken to the hospital.
After the collapse of the house, the São Paulo Fire Department announced the “deployment of 59 men and 20 vehicles” to begin rescue operations.
São Paulo is on alert due to the persistent rains affecting the region. According to the Brazilian Civil Defense, this situation favors landslides and causes rivers and streams to overflow.
However, for now, authorities have ruled out a possible risk of severe storms and tornadoes, although 100 millimeters of rain fell in a single day.
According to the data provided, in the last 48 hours there have been 26 incidents in the locality, including collapses and landslides, as well as strong winds, with gusts reaching 92 kilometers per hour.
The local Fire Department reported that, between 1:00 and 5:00 a.m. this Saturday, other calls related to landslides were also received, 11 for flooding and six for fallen trees, as Veja reported.
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