Brazil building collapse leaves 5 dead, 8 still missing

Rescue workers look for victims among the debris of a building collapse in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil on July 7, 2023. REUTERS/Anderson Stevens

SAO PAULO — A building collapsed on Friday in Brazil’s northeastern state of Pernambuco, leaving at least five dead and eight others missing, civil defense authorities said.

The state’s civil defense secretary said that as of 7 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Friday, four people had been rescued alive from the rubble of the building in the Janga neighborhood in the outskirts of state capital Recife.

The Pernambuco government said on social media that eight teams had been dispatched to the site after civil defense learned of the collapse at 6:35 a.m. (0935 GMT).

It was unclear what caused the collapse. Recife, a coastal city of some 1.5 million people, has been grappling with heavy rains in recent days.

The city and its metropolitan region were put under “state of attention” on Friday, which represents “moderate to high risk,” the government said.

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