Building collapse in Olinda. Two dead and five missing

At least two people died late on Thursday evening local time, early in the morning in Lisbon, as a result of the collapse of an apartment building in the Brazilian city of Olinda, neighboring Recife, in the state of Pernambuco. This Friday, rescue teams tried to extricate at least five more people still missing from the rubble, doing slow and difficult manual work, as the use of heavy equipment could further reduce the chance of finding someone alive.

Also this Friday, two of the four victims of the collapse of the building were still hospitalized in the city hospital with multiple injuries. Two other victims, removed from the rubble at night and taken to the hospital, were discharged after receiving medical care.

Throughout the night, firefighters have been busy clearing rubble with their own hands, trying to save a 53-year-old man who was buried, but managed to contact the rescuers. Nine hours after the collapse, he was rescued alive at dawn that Friday, very injured but conscious, and the search for the other five buried continued.

The four-story building with 16 apartments was located in the Jardim Atlantico area and the collapse caused all eight apartments in the front of the building to collapse. The remaining eight apartments, although badly damaged, were left standing, allowing the occupants to escape or be rescued virtually unscathed.

The building was part of 28 buildings in the Atlantic Garden that were condemned by civil defense over 20 years ago in 2000 for serious flaws in foundations and structures. Despite the fact that at that time these buildings were banned, residents continued to live in them, and no government authorities went there to demolish them.