Fire devastates Sao Paulo shantytown

A fire destroyed great parts of a shantytown in Sao Paulo, Brazil today, authorities said, leaving one person dead and 1,115 people homeless.

The fire probably started after an explosion in one of the wooden shacks of the Favela Paraguai, a slum in the eastern Sao Paulo district of Vila Prudente, Lt. Eduardo Fernandes from Sao Paulo’s state civil defence told The Associated Press.

The blaze then quickly spread to nearby dwellings also made out of wood and destroyed about 900 slum houses.

Firemen found the body of Manoel Jose de Negeiros, 54, in a burned-down hut when they had managed to extinguish the flames after three hours, Fernandes said.

Sao Paulo Mayor Marta Suplicy, visiting the fire site today, said to avoid new fires in slum areas, the cash-strapped city needed federal funds to finance housing programmes.

Fires in shantytowns of Brazilian cities are frequent as many of the illegal settlements are made out of makeshift wooden shacks that lack basic safety standards and are prone to gas explosions.