Buildings collapse in Rio de Janeiro, and toddlers die | Daily Headline Latin American News

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Irregular construction of small houses in slums, which is common in slums, was blamed on fatal collapses.

The city’s fire department said that before dawn on Thursday, a four-story building in western Rio de Janeiro collapsed, killing at least one baby and one adult, and destroying nearby homes. Four people were rescued from the rubble.

This irregular building consists of four overlapping small houses. A spokesperson for the fire department said. City officials confirmed to the Associated Press in an email that the building does not have a permit.

Irregular buildings have long plagued Brazil.The largest country in Latin America is experiencing one of the largest countries in the world The worst outbreak Coronavirus.

The accident at 3 am (06:00 GMT) in the working-class neighborhood of Rio das Pedras highlighted the difficulties the authorities encountered in their attempts to crack down on illegal construction in areas controlled by paramilitary groups.

Paramilitary groups, often referred to as “militia“In Brazil, consisting of former firefighters, police and soldiers, they often control public land and build illegal houses for informal rental. Many people choose to live in such houses because they are cheaper.

“With me, the militia will not create more rubbish in this city,” Rio Mayor Eduardo Paez said on Thursday.

The police killed 25 in an attack last month Raided drug suspects In the Jacarezinho slum, one of the largest slums in Rio.

According to the Rio Ministry of Environmental Protection, since January, more than 180 irregular buildings have been demolished in the West District alone, and more than 150 notifications have been issued. The department stated that notification is the first step in demolition.

The Rio Regional Engineering and Agronomy Commission, the public entity responsible for overseeing new construction works, stated that safety is a major issue in many areas of the metropolitan area.

“We can’t get into the community to see if work is normal,” Regional Committee Chairman Luis Antonio Cosenza told The Associated Press.

City officials said they blocked the passage of seven buildings near the collapsed building, and all 20 residents have been relocated.

Maria Augusto da Silva, who lives across from the collapsed building, said she started screaming when she heard terrible noises in the middle of the night.

“I was desperate, I thought it was the end of the world,” she said. “I asked God it saved me and my family. But the noise keeps on.”

As soon as the street calmed down, she grabbed her two young grandsons and fled the house, passing through the debris outside the doorstep.

This disaster echoes another fatal collapse of the city. In 2019, two condemned buildings built without permission in an area controlled by illegal militias collapsed in Rio de Janeiro, killing 22 people.



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