Brazil in Landslide Rescue Effort

Rescue teams in Brazil are working for a second night to find 200 people believed to have been buried in their homes by a massive landslide. More than 50 houses were engulfed as mud and rubble poured into the Morro do Bumba shantytown near Rio de Janeiro.

According to BBC News at least 170 people died after a week of heavy rain prompted mudslides and floods in Rio de Janeiro state. The soil is still saturated and local officials are warning that there could be further landslides.

Although rescue teams were working through the night with floodlights in Morro do Bumba, there was little hope of finding survivors, and the number of confirmed deaths is expected to rise steeply.

The shantytown was built on top of a disused landfill which makes it prone to landslides, and the 300 rescue workers on the site are having to conduct their search with great caution.

Officials are working to distribute 70,000 packs containing food, clothes and medical supplies for those left homeless by the flooding. The Brazilian government has announced an emergency program to rebuild homes. The local authorities have requested more than $200m from the federal government to help them cope with the disaster.