The death toll from a spate of flooding and mudslides in southeastern Brazil has risen to at least 60, as rescue teams continue to search for survivors.
Firefighters used heavy machinery and shovels on Saturday to search for people who went missing when a massive slab of hillside collapsed after torrential rain in Rio de Janeiro state.
At least 26 people died in the worst hit area on the island resort of Ilha Grande, as thick mud and rock covered an upscale resort on the island on Friday, authorities and witnesses said.
Homes crushed
The mudslide also crushed three homes and a hotel on an island off the city of Angra dos Ries, burying some people in their homes on Friday.
The landslides were part of a series of mudslides and flooding triggered by heavy rains across the state of Rio de Janeiro since Wednesday, leaving dozens of people missing.
On Thursday, mudslides elsewhere in the state killed 19 people, mostly inhabitants of shantytowns in the greater Rio de Janeiro city area.
About 80 mudslides have occurred in the region and more rain is forecast for the upcoming days, officials said.
Officials have warned the death toll could rise.
PHOTO CAPTION
A mountainside is bare after a mudslide in Morro da Carioca, an area in the city of Angra dos Reis, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010.
Al-Jazeera