MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mudslide in Rio do Janeiro killed at least ten people: rescue teams search for missing neighbors

Rescue teams managed to rescue 11 people from the rubble, including a baby and two children. Four people are believed to be missing.

At least ten people were killed on Saturday when a hillside collapsed in a poor neighborhood near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The mudslide buried six homes in the municipality of Niteroi following days of heavy rains in the area. Among those killed were a 3-year-old child and a 10-month-old baby.

Rescue teams managed to rescue 11 people from the rubble, including a baby and two children. Four people are believed to be missing.

Families in the area had been warned about potential mudslides following days of rain.

“We are being very careful in carrying out the rescue work, which is practically done almost manually, in order to possibly find people still alive,” Roberto Robadey, Rio's civil defense department head, told the Globo TV network.

Some local residents were seriously injured and received medical care at the site before they were released.

Heavy storms are common during the Brazilian spring and summer. Landslides can often be fatal due to terrain and irregular construction on hillsides. In 2010, around 300 landslides in the hills of Rio killed more than 250 people.