Rescuers urged people at the site to be silent to allow them to hear noises in the rubble, authorities said.
Representational image (Photo: IANS)
At least one person was dead and left others trapped after a seven-story building got collapsed on Tuesday in an upscale part of the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, according to officials.
Fire department commander Cleyton Bezerra said that nine people were missing, though it was unclear if they were under the rubble or just unreachable by relatives and friends. Ten survivors have been found along with an unidentified body.
Bezerra further said, “It is a difficult situation; there are parts (of the building) that can still collapse”.
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Two trapped people were communicating with relatives and rescuers over the phone, according to authorities.
Rescuers urged people at the site to be silent to allow them to hear noises in the rubble, authorities said.
Fire department spokesman Romario Fernandes said that for now, we are trying to hear sounds that indicate where people are. There are several layers of debris.
Andre Montenegro, the head of construction industry chamber in the state of Ceara, believes Tuesday’s collapse happened “in a 30-year-old building that was clearly having problems with its maintenance, with its foundations.”
Montenegro also said the crisis in Brazil’s economy is preventing many owners of old buildings from investing in their renovation.
“A lot of investments in maintenance are being postponed for a later date, and sometimes that later date comes too late,” he said.
In April, two four-story buildings collapsed in Rio de Janeiro that left 24 people dead.
The incident occured in a hillside area that was hard hit by rains and flash floods.
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