Death toll hits 147 as new mudslide hits Rio

It was feared that dozens were buried under the debris.

Alves Souza, commander of the firefighters in the Niteroi rescue operations carried out under electric lights, said the work was moving slowly.

The wet, steep terrain made it dangerous for anyone trapped in the wreckage and those trying to pull victims out.

He said: "We've managed to recover two bodies and the work is very intense, given the fact that the volume of material we have here is very large."

Record rainfall since Monday afternoon triggered deadly mudslides across Rio's metropolitan area, causing at least 147 deaths. At least 60 people are missing, but that does not include the dozens likely to be buried under the latest slide.

Rodrigo de Almeira dug for 15 hours through mud and debris yesterday. When asked if he had been able to save anyone from a landslide in the Pleasure Hill slum where he lives, he shook his head.

"Right there, at least 15 people I know died," Mr Almeira said, staring at a mound of mud and debris.

Wooden planks - remnants of the shacks engulfed by the surging earth - poked through the mud as 30 rescue workers gingerly dug at it with picks and shovels looking for survivors.

"We found a guy alive this morning, so we had hope," said Mr Almeira, 28. "He didn't make it. We were told he died on his way to the hospital."

Because of the continuing rains, steep hillsides and loose earth, officials said there had been few successful rescues.

One man, Carlos Eduardo Silva dos Santos, 24, was pulled alive from under a concrete wall in western Rio.

Nearly all the deaths occurred in mudslides that smashed through slums - another reminder that life in one of the world's most famous playgrounds is very different for the poor.

Residents of the shanty towns often endure dangers such as the frequent shoot-outs between police and heavily-armed drug gangs.

Mr Almeira and other slum residents say they have nowhere else to go if they want jobs in Rio's richer areas.

Leandro Ribeiro, another slum resident, said: "The government wants to forcefully remove the residents living in danger, and that is understandable.

"But where are we supposed to go? Some people have been living here for 30 years. This is their home."

Mayor Eduardo Paes said he was taking a tougher stand on forced relocations.

He announced that 1,500 families were going to be removed from their homes on Pleasure Hill and in Rocinha, one of Latin America's largest slums.

"I don't want to spend next summer sleepless, worrying if the rains are going to kill somebody," he said.

Rio was in chaos after the record rains this week. Trees and power lines were knocked down, enormous craters were carved in streets, wastewater flowed down to the city's white sand beaches and it was nearly impossible to get anywhere in the city of six million people.

In Rocinha, officials said 16 inches of rain had fallen so far this month - three times the amount normally expected for all of April.

The Rio state civil defence department said at least 11,000 people were forced from their homes. Officials said potential mudslides threatened at least 10,000 houses in the city.

Rio de Janeiro state governor Sergio Cabral declared a three-day mourning period, and children were kept from schools for a second day yesterday.