Brazil: Mudslide survivors hit out at lack of state aid

SURVIVORS of mudslides that killed least 564 people in the region north of capital Rio de Janeiro are growing frustrated with the government, which they accuse of falling short in responding to one of Brazil's worst natural disasters.

On the fourth night since torrential rains sent avalanches of mud and boulders smashing through communities in the mountains outside Rio, many people were still begging officials for aid. Many also took it upon themselves to search for their dead and help injured survivors.

"The ones I've seen go up there and really make the effort are all people from here," said Sergio Joaquin de Jesus, 48, a construction worker who had just donated blood and was rounding up a crew of co-workers to dig for bodies yesterday morning.

His wife's brother and sister were missing, but De Jesus said he planned to carry provisions up to people stuck high in the mountains.

"Imagine, human beings up there, with no food, no water, nowhere to sleep, in this weather. They're living like dogs," he said. "Where is the government? What are they still waiting for?"

The military said on Friday that it was sending 11 helicopters and 500 personnel to help approximately 800 rescuers from fire departments and the state civil defence agency, who are struggling to reach stricken areas in persistent heavy rain. The army and navy also pledged heavy digging machinery, ambulances and generators - needed to continue rescue efforts through the night.

Low-lying rain clouds prevented helicopters from flying in, however, and the military promised it would try again.

Meanwhile, survivors did what they could. Fernando Perfista dug out the body of his eldest child from the mud, then looked for the 12-year-old's three missing siblings. He sheltered the boy's remains in a refrigerator to keep scavenging dogs at bay while he searched.

After failing to find his other children, the 31-year-old ranch hand built a stretcher from scrap wood and carried his son's body down a mudslide-wrecked slope before burying him in a homemade coffin.

Then Perfista waited with a crowd in the rain outside the Teresopolis morgue for a chance to plead with officials to help him continue his search.He clutched plastic-covered pictures of his three other children: a chubby one-year-old and two smiling girls, ages six and ten.

"My children are in there, in that river bank, under that mud," he said.

Survivors of the mudslides streamed into the centre of Teresopolis over the weekend.

Amauri Souza, a 38-year-old who helped Perfista carry his son's body, said a few helicopters had reached isolated areas, but "they're only taking down the wounded." He said officials were not dropping off body bags or food or water, adding that he feared the consequences if aid did not arrive soon.

"The water is rotten, but people are forced to drink it. There is no food. I had meat in my house, but it's all gone bad," Souza said.

He said he pulled his wife and six-month-old daughter onto higher ground just as a churning mass of water, mud and rocks hit early Wednesday. But his wife's parents were lost - he heard their screams for help as they were washed away.

Officials fear the death toll could rise once remote areas are reached.

Teresopolis, a city of 163,000 people next to a national park, sits in an area of thickly forested slopes and sheer mountain peaks, and is a chief training site for Brazil's national soccer team. It is also home to many ornate weekend homes where the wealthy of Rio escape the summer heat to enjoy horse-riding and other outdoor pursuits.