Three firefighters pull the body of a man from mud amid the debris of homes swept away by a landslide in south-eastern Brazil, where 30 people died and 39 are still missing after torrential rains on Tuesday.
A river burst its banks and left torrents of brown water on roads in Minas Gerais state, which has seen record rainfall this month, after overnight rain lashed the region.
State firefighters said 30 people had died in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba. More than 200 people have been saved.
Firefighters and sniffer dogs are working to find 39 people still missing in the debris.
In the mountainous area of Juiz de Fora, 12 homes were swept away in a “massive landslide,” fire brigade Major Demetrius Goulart told AFP.
“Many people were inside their homes when it was raining at night,” he said.
Wilton Aparecido de Souza began crying as he described his 20-year-old son being trapped under the debris.
“He was a nice guy, he had just finished his military service and he wanted to buy a motorcycle,” the 42-year-old man told AFP.
“At least find his body, so I can give him a proper burial.”
In the rare moments after the diggers’ engines were shut off, silence fell among the dozens of spectators, broken only by the barking of a nervous dog.
“Almost all the people buried in this dirt are family; there’s my sister, my niece,” said Clitan Ronan, a 32-year-old warehouse worker.
Earlier, Goulart said a boy aged about 10 had been pulled alive from the debris after a two-hour rescue effort, and many people expressed hope that their loved ones would still be found alive.
But, state civil protection coordinator Paulo Roberto Bermudes Rezende told AFP, “the longer this goes on, the less likely it is to find survivors”.
Volunteers came to help the firefighters with shovels.
Attila Mauro, a 33-year-old mason, said: “I was heartbroken when I dug up children’s stuff – balloons, teddy bears. I’m also a father… I’m trying to help in every possible way
“
The state fire department said the rains had caused floods and landslides, while pictures shared on social media showed buildings collapsing.
The mayor of Juiz de Fora, Margarida Salomo, declared a state of emergency.
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wrote on Twitter: “Our focus is to guarantee humanitarian aid, the restoration of basic services, assistance to displaced people and support for reconstruction.”
Salomao said his municipality of more than half the 500,000 people was experiencing the wettest February on record, with 584 mm (23 in) of accumulated rainfall.
Salomao described the situation as “extreme”, saying some areas were isolated and at least 20 landslides had occurred.
His office said an estimated 440 people had to flee their homes and were receiving assistance for temporary shelter.
State authorities suspended classes in all municipal schools.
Brazil has suffered various tragedies in recent years due to extreme weather events ranging from floods to droughts and intense heat waves.
In 2024, unprecedented flooding in southern Brazil killed more than 200 people and affected two million, one of the worst natural disasters in its history.
Two years ago, flooding killed 241 people in the city of Petrópolis, outside Rio de Janeiro.
Experts have linked most of these incidents to the effects of climate change.
<a href