The building that collapsed in Brás, in the center of São Paulo, on Friday night (6) did not have an Inspection Report from the Fire Department (AVCB). The document certifies that a building meets the fire and panic safety conditions required by law.
The collapse occurred in the mezzanine area of the building, according to Captain Karoline Burunsizian, spokesperson for the São Paulo Fire Department. At the time of the accident, 35 employees were inside the establishment. Some of them unloaded fabrics.
Of the total, 27 people were removed by rescue teams, and the rest managed to leave before firefighters arrived.
Four people were rescued and taken to the Mooca UPA in stable condition, but with bruises and injuries to their arms and legs. The victims remained hospitalized this Saturday morning (7).
Sniffer dogs indicated the possible presence of people under the rubble. However, according to a Fire Department spokeswoman, it was not possible to confirm whether there were victims at the scene.
Rescue work will resume this Saturday morning, with the support of machinery. According to firefighters, the instability of the terrain and the imminent risk of structural collapse prevent manual work from continuing safely.
"There is no person missing. So, we are passing the dog off for conscience relief so that we can clear it, so that we have no doubt that there are no victims inside this establishment", he stated.
For the spokesperson, the fact that there were no fatalities was a "pleasant surprise":
The causes of the collapse have not yet been reported. The captain stated that the expert will be responsible for determining what caused the structural collapse.
Asked whether the weight of the fabrics could have contributed to the accident, she said that this analysis was not part of the firefighters' work at that time.
"The expert will do all the detailed work on why it collapsed, what the reasons were, whether or not it was overweight. This is not a concern for the Fire Department at this moment, but rather the search for lives," he stated.
An engineer began to analyze the site to check whether there was a risk to neighboring structures.
According to Karoline, nearby buildings could be closed if a risk of collapse was identified. Until that moment, however, the properties were isolated for safety while responding to the incident, but there was no information that they were prevented from being visited.
People who were inside the four-story building that collapsed on Friday night (6), in Brás, central region of São Paulo, reported their desperation to escape the property. One of the workers stated that around 30 colleagues were with him at the time of the accident and that the group had to leave through the roof, over the debris. The causes of the collapse have not yet been reported.
"It was terrifying, friend. It was a miracle from God. There were about 30 people inside. We were all trapped inside. My soul came out and returned to my body again. It was sad," said Vando de Jesus Bispo, who has worked loading fabrics for six years.
According to him, the people who were in the property helped each other to escape, and three friends were more seriously injured. One of the victims was porter Wesley Aureliano, who was left with bruises on his back.
Vando stated that there was a lot of merchandise inside the property and, when asked what could have caused the collapse, he pointed out the excess weight.
Felipe, another victim of the accident, said he was on the top floor when the structure began to collapse. According to him, he had just left fabrics at the scene.
"How did I manage to get out? By being cunning. If the guy wasn't crazier than a madman in the middle of all that collapsing on top of you, the guy would stay there. If I didn't get out by pushing what's in front of me, I would die there", he said.
Rosilene Oliveira was sitting outside the store when the building collapsed. "I was sitting there and my husband had just walked in when it happened. It was sudden," she said.
Images recorded by Globocop show that the back of the building was completely destroyed, while the glass structure of the facade remained standing.
A neighbor of the property, Claudneia, said she heard the noise of the collapse and went out to watch the firefighters work. She claimed to have seen people being taken out alive.
"Around 6:30 pm, my daughter shouted 'mom, a truck hit the street'. Then I said 'no, daughter, there's no truck here'. Then she looked and there was already a lot of smoke. She said 'mom, it wasn't a truck, the store collapsed'", she said.
