Up to 200 people buried by new mudslide in Brazil

The mudslide late Wednesday made matters worse in a rain-induced tragedy that has already caused 154 confirmed deaths in Rio and its surroundings since late Monday, dpa reported.

The latest mudslide affected a favela (slum) on Bumba hill, in Niteroi, some 13 kilometres from Rio. The mud buried scores of homes in the slum, which has grown up next to a rubbish dump, and the precise number of people who lived there is not known.

With Rio slated to host the 2016 Olympics, the first Latin American country to have the honour, Brazil's response to the emergencies is being closely watched, adding to the attention already being given to violent crime in Rio's shanty towns.

A 190-strong team of firemen and other rescue personnel managed to rescue 25 survivors from the Niteroi rubble and to recover six bodies.

Civil Defence Undersecretary Pedro Machado said there were very few chances of finding more survivors.

Rio Health and Civil Defence Secretary Sergio Cortes said rescue efforts are expected to take weeks.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes expressed his solidarity with residents of the neighbouring town, and he stressed that the tragedy on Bumba hill serves to reinforce calls "for people to leave vulnerable areas."

Agostinho Guerreiro, president of the Rio de Janeiro Regional Engineering Council (CREA), blamed the authorities for allowing people to live on a rubbish dump.

"This has been a totally predictable tragedy," he said.

The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday that it would free 113 million dollars in emergency resources to remedy the disaster in the Rio area. In a meeting with federal authorities on Wednesday, Rio state Governor Sergio Cabral had asked for financial support worth 208 million dollars, Kazinform cites Trend News. See www.en.trend.az for full version.