Death toll tops 610

A young man carries a matress as he flees Campo Grande neighbourhood, after it was devastated by recent landslides of mud and rocks, in Teresopolis, some 100 km from Rio de Janiero, yesterday.Photo: AFP

Brazilians yesterday prayed for victims of devastating floods near Rio de Janeiro after the death toll from the natural disaster rose to at least 610 and was predicted to climb again.
Emergency workers in the disaster zone, in the Serrana region just north of Rio, were overwhelmed by the body count. Refrigerator trucks had to be brought in to store corpses.
Workers transporting bodies said they feared the overall death toll could top 1,000 as rescuers reached outlying hamlets.
President Dilma Rousseff declared the three days of mourning, government news agency Agencia Brasil reported. Rio de Janeiro state authorities said their state will observe a full week of mourning starting today.