Explosion in a residential building leaves injuries and causes closures in Copacabana

The Fire Department was called late this Wednesday afternoon (19) after an explosion in a residential building at Rua Sá Ferreira, 44, in Copacabana, south zone of Rio de Janeiro.

Teams from the Copacabana Barracks were mobilized to the location and removed residents from the building, which has 13 floors, in addition to the basement.

Four people were rescued by the corporation, with minor and moderate injuries. Two victims needed to be taken to the Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital, in Gávea, south of Rio.

The municipality's Civil Defense was called and, after a structural assessment, verified that the building was not at risk of collapsing. Part of the garage and the two apartments that suffered shocks from the explosion were closed.

Lieutenant Colonel Fábio Contreras, spokesperson for the corporation, said that "the firefighters had to evacuate the entire building, a total of 150 apartments, so that they could be sure that the building was not at risk of structural collapse. Civil Defense teams were called, carried out the assessment and soon after cleared the site with some partial closures. In the two apartments that suffered the shocks on the second floor and also in part of the building's garage", he explained.

The causes of the explosion will be investigated by the Civil Police.