video transcript

EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL Rescue workers in Rio de Janeiro's mountains pulled out 11 more bodies from under mud and rubble, raising the death toll of the region's landslides to 27 on Tuesday (March 19). Mudslides triggered by heavy rains since the weekend have destroyed hundreds of homes and uprooted thousands of people in the Brazilian state. Most of the dead, including two civil defense rescuers, were buried under landslides caused by 17 inches (420 mm) of rain that fell on the mountainous region in just 24 hours, almost double the rainfall average for the month of March in the area. Firemen have been working around the clock searching for victims who could have been swept away by floods. Works promised by local authorities to prevent new disasters have not materialised, though sirens installed in the region helped reduce the number of deaths this year, officials say.