Rescue workers have searched through heavy mud and rock for dozens of people believed missing [AFP]
Rescue workers have searched through heavy mud and rock for dozens of people believed missing [AFP]
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.
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.
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.
"We came to celebrate the New Year and then all this sadness happened," Fernanda de Oliveira, a witness to the mudslide on Ilha Grande, told the O Globo newspaper.
"We couldn't see what was happening. It was raining hard and the water was leaking into our house.
"Suddenly, we saw people in the sea and we went down to rescue them."
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.
Three days of mourning have been declared locally and the city's annual celebration on January 6 has been cancelled.
Officials have warned the death toll could rise.
At least sixty people have been confirmed dead after mudslides in southeastern Brazil, mostly on Ilha Grande, caused by torrential rainfall.

Rescue efforts are still continuing in the state of Rio de Janeiro for people feared to be buried under houses, which collapsed due to the deluge of mud and rain. Rescuers used shovels and heavy machinery to dig through the rubble.

Colonel Jerri Andrade, who is supervising the rescuers, commented on the current status of rescue efforts. "The weather is improving, which helps us with the search, but we won't rest as long as we suspect that there are more bodies underneath the remains."

More rain is forecast in the days ahead, making additional mudslides a possibility. The authorities have warned that the death toll could increase as more bodies are found. Three days of mourning were declared in the Rio de Janeiro greater area, and celebrations scheduled for January 6 were called off.