http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/25/building-collapses-in-rio-de-janeiro-after-blast/3 multistory buildings collapse in Rio de JaneiroRead more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/25/building-collapses-in-rio-de-janeiro-after-blast/#ixzz1kYVJwHnKRIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Three multistory buildings collapsed in Rio de Janeiro Wednesday evening, leaving rubble strewn over a wide area but confusion about the number of possible victims and the cause.
The city's mayor said late Wednesday that although the number of victims in unknown, there many be at least five people injured and an unknown number trapped in the rubble.
"Three buildings collapsed: a 20-story building, a 10-story building and a smaller building of three or four floors," mayor Eduardo Paes told reporters, updating a previous estimate of the damage.
"Giving a total number of victims would be pure speculation," he added.
Health secretary Sousa Aguiar said five people had received minor injuries and were at a hospital under observation, adding that the buildings would have been largely deserted at the time of night when the collapse occurred.
A spokeswoman from the city's Civil Defense department had said two people were confirmed dead, but officials from City Hall and the municipal health department later disputed that, saying no deaths had been confirmed by early Thursday.
There was a strong smell of natural gas in the area, but Rio's mayor said there were doubts that a gas leak caused the accident.
"There apparently was not an explosion. The collapse occurred because of structural damages," he said. "I don't think there was a gas leak."
Witnesses had said they heard a loud explosion-like sound just before the building collapsed, and a strong odor of gas hung over the scene.
Police cordoned off the area and electricity to the street was cut off for safety reasons.
The Associated Press and Newscore contributed to this report.
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/25/building-collapses-in-rio-de-janeiro-after-blast/#ixzz1kYVMVsUJ
