Firefighters Confirm Seventh Death in Fortaleza Apartment Collapse

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ceará Fire Department confirmed yesterday, October 18th, the seventh casualty resulting from the collapse of the Fortaleza residential building.

The body of Vicente de Paulo Menezes, 86 years old, was removed this Friday and the press was informed only after identification was confirmed, by the general commander of the Ceará Fire Department, Colonel Luís Eduardo Soares de Holanda.

The Andrea Building collapsed on Tuesday morning, October 15th, at about 10:30 AM.

Located at the intersection of Rua Tibúrcio Cavalcante with Rua Tomás Acioli, in the Dionísio Torres neighborhood, the information is that the property was undergoing repairs.

According to the Fire Department commander, two people are still being searched for in the rubble.

“We are looking for two victims. We have been looking for victims since the beginning of the operation. The same operational power, the same number of firefighters, all the equipment, the full support of the community, the state government and the city government,” Holanda said at a press conference on-site.

According to the commander, sniffer dogs are being used and cover what he termed “hot spots,” places where there are more likely to be victims. The firefighters work with two “hot spots” and hope to rescue the remaining victims still alive, despite a large number of days already elapsed.

“Time is not favorable, the longer time passes it is obvious than the chance of finding survivors decreases, but we are still hopeful of finding survivors”.

In addition to Vicente de Paulo, Rosane Marques de Menezes, 56, Frederick Santana dos Santos, 30, Izaura Marques Menezes, 81, Antônio Gildásio Holanda Silveira, 60, Nayara Pinho Silveira, 31, and Maria da Penha Bezerril Cavalcante, 81, were also killed in this tragedy.

Source: Agência Brasil