Death toll from Brazil's mudslides hits 44

11 March

The death toll from the devastating mudslides that occurred one week ago in southeast Brazil's Sao Paulo state has reached 44, local authorities said Tuesday.

Using heavy earth-moving machinery, firefighters dug up the body of a fellow rescue worker who died while trying to save a family buried under earth and rubble.

Another 34 people remain missing in the popular seaside resort town of Guaruja, where the mudslides sparked by heavy rains destroyed ramshackle houses in a slum.

On March 3, a storm carrying unusually heavy rains hit Brazil's southeastern coast, causing landslides and deaths, with dozens more missing.

The deaths occurred in the towns of Guaruja, Santos and Sao Vicente, with Guaruja hit the hardest, where 33 people were killed.

Meanwhile, eight people were killed in Santos and three in Sao Vicente.

xinhua