Tragedy struck on Friday in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Brazil, as a building collapse resulted in the killing of five individuals and left eight others missing. This unfortunate incident was confirmed by the civil defense authorities.
Rescue efforts
By 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) on Friday, four survivors were successfully rescued from the debris of the collapsed building situated in the Janga neighborhood on the outskirts of Recife, the capital city of Pernambuco, Reuters reported citing state’s civil defense secretary statement over the progress of the rescue operation.
Upon receiving information about the collapse at 6:35 a.m. local time (0935 GMT), the Pernambuco government promptly dispatched eight teams to the site.
These teams were deployed by the civil defense authorities.
Uncertain cause
The exact cause of the building collapse remains unknown at this time.
Former occupants of the apartment building stated that they were removed by authorities in 2009. However, they also claimed that since then other individuals had occupied the premises.
A local resident named Elisangela as quoted by Sky News said, “This building had already been condemned 14 years ago, and we had to leave.”
“My mother used to live in the building. But when we left, people invaded [the building]… they did a lot of renovations,” she added.
Recife, a coastal city with a population of approximately 1.5 million people, has been experiencing heavy rainfall in recent days. These adverse weather conditions may have played a role, but nothing definitive can be said of the incident.
In response to the heavy rains, the government had declared a “state of attention” for Recife and its metropolitan region.
