Father Protects 4-Year-Old Before Dying in House Collapse

At least 7 have died in Brazil's heavy rains
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 23, 2024 12:10 PM CDT
Father Protects 4-Year-Old Before Dying in House Collapse
Rescue workers look for victms after heavy rains in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on Saturday.   (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro state have killed at least seven people, Brazilian authorities said Saturday, while a 4-year-old girl was rescued after more than 16 hours under mud. The girl was pulled out alive in the city of Petropolis, 43 miles north of Rio. Rescue teams had to stop their work Friday night due to risks of new landslides in the region. The girl's father died as a house was knocked to the ground. She survived because he protected her with his body, members of rescue teams said. Three more people died in the same place, the AP reports.

Mayors and Gov. Claudio Castro had alarmed residents of potential problems over the weekend since Thursday. Firefighters have struggled to reach those hit by heavy rains, many of them residents of long-endangered areas. Sniffing dogs were also part of the rescue efforts. Almost 100 people had been saved, authorities said.

(More Brazil stories.)

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