 A woman prays during a Mass in honor of landslide victims at a Catholic church in Nova Friburgo, Brazil. AP photo. |
The death toll from catastrophic mudslides in Brazil last week rose Thursday to 702 as more bodies were recovered from the devastated mountainous Serrana region near Rio de Janeiro.
Rio's state health and civil defense service, which gave the tally, also said around 14,000 people were homeless or unable to return to unstable areas. The disaster, which struck Wednesday last week, is the worst of its type in Brazil's history.
The toll was likely to rise further in the days ahead as emergency crews backed by 700 military personnel used helicopters and four-wheel drives to access areas that have been cut off for days. "I'm never going back there to live. Death will always be in that place," said Roberto Fabiano Augusto, a survivor rescued from the isolated village of Vale de Cuiaba.
More than 50 people died in his village, he said. His family managed to escape, but his neighbors did not. "A lot of my childhood friends died. I don't want to go back there to live," he said after a helicopter brought him to the nearby town of Itaipava.
The commander in charge of air rescues, Commander Luis Antonio Pinto Machado, said "there are still at least 10 areas cut off, which have populations from 500 to several thousand." From the air, the landslides were easily seen: red scars on mountains with layers of debris beneath. Houses in their path were torn apart, as though blasted by explosives.
Residents were seen pleading for help from the helicopters flying over their heads. When crews descended, they dropped off food and first-aid kits. But in many cases, locals wanted to stay where they were, to secure what was left of their homes. The government has pledged $450 million in aid, $60 million of which have been released immediately. Brazilian media called it the worst mudslide disaster in the country's history, surpassing mudslides in a coastal town that killed 437 people in 1967.
Rio's state health and civil defense service, which gave the tally, also said around 14,000 people were homeless or unable to return to unstable areas. The disaster, which struck Wednesday last week, is the worst of its type in Brazil's history.
The toll was likely to rise further in the days ahead as emergency crews backed by 700 military personnel used helicopters and four-wheel drives to access areas that have been cut off for days. "I'm never going back there to live. Death will always be in that place," said Roberto Fabiano Augusto, a survivor rescued from the isolated village of Vale de Cuiaba.
More than 50 people died in his village, he said. His family managed to escape, but his neighbors did not. "A lot of my childhood friends died. I don't want to go back there to live," he said after a helicopter brought him to the nearby town of Itaipava.
The commander in charge of air rescues, Commander Luis Antonio Pinto Machado, said "there are still at least 10 areas cut off, which have populations from 500 to several thousand." From the air, the landslides were easily seen: red scars on mountains with layers of debris beneath. Houses in their path were torn apart, as though blasted by explosives.
Residents were seen pleading for help from the helicopters flying over their heads. When crews descended, they dropped off food and first-aid kits. But in many cases, locals wanted to stay where they were, to secure what was left of their homes. The government has pledged $450 million in aid, $60 million of which have been released immediately. Brazilian media called it the worst mudslide disaster in the country's history, surpassing mudslides in a coastal town that killed 437 people in 1967.
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