Brazilian mudslides kill up to 39 people

FIREFIGHTERS in the Brazilian town of Angra Dos Reis worked through the night searching for bodies in the mud that swept down from the surrounding hills, burying houses and killing at least 39 people.

Almost 2,000 people were forced to leave their homes by the mudslides and floods, which were triggered by torrential rains over the weekend. Civil defence officials said it was the worst disaster to hit the town of about 60,000 people, 100 miles west of Rio de Janeiro.

"The numbers could rise a little but we don't expect it to grow much more than this," said Colonel Sergio Simoes of the local fire department, which led the search for survivors and victims.