7 people were reported dead after a mudslide struck 2 residences in the city of Recife, Brazil.
Recife is located in the State of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil, and is one of the largest cities in the country. The ground failure occurred in Dois Unidos, a neighborhood in Recife, on Christmas Eve causing the death of 7 people from the same family and 3 additional injuries. According to reports, the landslide caused a barrier to collapse and crush the 2 houses.
A rescue operation conducted by the fire department followed the unfortunate incident. Firefighters were summoned at the scene in search of survivors. 5 victims were pulled out within a short period of time but the operation for 2 additional dead women lasted for about 10 more hours.
Among the victims were a young couple, their 2-month-old baby and a woman with her 9-year-old granddaughter.
The causes of the mudslide have not been identified yet. According to G1, a Brazilian news portal, the ground was filled with water after two water pipes broke during the previous night. Probably, the water flow and the increase of power-water pressure contributed to the failure.
The slope above the affected area is currently covered with a large sheet of strong and water-resistant material.
Luiz Tadeu Costa, one of the victims that survived, describes the moment that the house collapsed: "I woke up to the noise and a wall falling over me and my wife. I asked her to breathe and stay calm until help came," he said. He also stated that it was the second time in the past decade that a landslide was triggered and struck residences in the area.
During the previous incident, debris hit a single house but, fortunately, there were no victims. After that failure, a retaining wall was constructed but it did not cover all the hazardous area and some residences were left vulnerable.
Sources: TheGuardian, Dailymail.co.uk
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