SÃO PAULO – A high rise building occupied by squatters in Brazil’s most populous city caught fire and collapsed Tuesday, sending chunks of fiery debris crashing into neighboring buildings and surrounding streets.

More than 150 firefighters are battling the blaze which is thought to have been caused by a gas explosion.

Firefighters said at least one person had been killed in the collapse and that there could be more. About 50 families reportedly were living in the abandoned building.

Video showed dust, flames and sparks flying into the air.

The 26-storey building, a former headquarters of the federal police, caught the fire around 1:30 a.m. local time. Firefighters set up a perimeter and worked to evacuate people.

Authorities were working to locate several others who were missing.

Firefighters believe clearing the rubble, which was still smouldering hours afterward, could take days.

São Paulo Governor Márcio França said the building was an accident waiting to happen but that its residents had resisted leaving.

“That type of home is uninhabitable, staying there is looking for trouble,” he said speaking at the site of the blaze.

São Paulo, Brazil’s vibrant financial center, is among the world’s most populous cities, with numerous cultural institutions and a rich architectural tradition.</s>The article you have been looking for has expired and is not longer available on our system. This is due to newswire licensing terms.</s>SAO PAULO: Forty-four people were listed as still missing today after a 24-storey building used by squatters in central Sao Paulo was engulfed in fire and collapsed, the Brazilian city's fire department said.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster yesterday only three were unaccounted for, including one man who was seconds from being successfully rescued by firefighters before the building suddenly crashed down.

"The fire department is continuing to search, currently with 31 vehicles, 78 firefighters," the department tweeted. "44 missing." There was no indication whether the large number of missing were considered likely to have been killed and buried under the rubble, or whether they simply were not there at the time.

The building, a disused former police headquarters, was occupied by 146 homeless families, officials say, blaming lack of even basic fire prevention measures for the accident. Officials have not given a specific cause for the blaze.

Sao Paulo is Brazil's financial capital and the most populous city in Latin America, but suffers huge economic inequality. Poor families often squat in disused buildings or set up tents and shacks on vacant land, sometimes next to wealthy areas.

President Michel Temer, who is Brazil's most unpopular leader on record, with single-digit approval ratings, got a hostile reception when he briefly visited the scene. "We want housing!" a crowd chanted before he hurriedly left.</s>A 24-storey building used by squatters in the centre of Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city, collapsed early Tuesday after a blaze that tore through the structure, leaving at least three missing.

Survivors described waking in the night to find themselves surrounded by flames and escaping with their children before the tower turned to rubble.

Scores of homeless families were occupying the building, according to officials. However, despite the ferocity of the blaze, only one person was listed as almost certainly dead.

"There are some missing, approximately three, with one very likely a fatality," Ricardo Peixoto, a firefighters' commander, told AFP. "We don't know how many people were in the building so we don't know whether we'll find more victims in the ruins."

So far, 250 people who'd been living in the building have been registered after the blaze, city security official Jose Roberto said.

The fire began overnight and spread rapidly, turning the building into an inferno before it fell down.

Dramatic pictures tweeted by the fire service showed flames shooting up the sides of the whole tower, moments before it was reduced to a heap of smoking ruins. An adjacent church was also damaged.

"We got the call at around 1:30 am (0430 GMT) and we came at once, a few minutes later, and about five floors of the building were on fire," Peixoto said. "Fifteen or 20 minutes later the building fell."

Fifty-seven vehicles and 160 firefighters were deployed to the scene, the department said.

Sao Paulo is Brazil's financial capital and the most populous city in Latin America, but suffers huge economic inequality.

Poor families often squat in disused buildings or set up tents and shacks on vacant land, sometimes next to wealthy areas.

President Michel Temer, who is Brazil's most unpopular leader on record, with single-digit approval ratings, got a hostile reception when he briefly visited the scene.

One survivor, 26-year-old Henrique, said he managed to get out from the third floor with his girlfriend and their dog.

"We woke and the building was already on fire," he said. "We struggle so much and now we've lost everything."

Another man, Jose Antonio, described the frantic escape from the sixth floor, where he lived with his wife, three children and sister-in-law.

"I was unsure if my son had taken my youngest daughter," Antonio, 48, told AFP. "There was still time to go back so I returned, I looked around, I patted the mattresses. There wasn't time to take anything. I patted the mattresses, saw no one was at home anymore, then I went down behind them shouting their names to see if they had gone down."

Sao Paulo state Governor Marcio Franca said "it was a tragedy waiting to happen.... This building didn't have even the minimum conditions for habitation. The state should not have allowed it to be occupied."

From a safety point of view, the building was a ticking bomb, Peixoto said.

"There was no security, there were not adequate electrical installations, there were no safe staircases, there were piles of rubbish -- there was everything you need to start a major fire," he said.</s>At least one person died after a fire ripped through two buildings in Sao Paulo, on Tuesday, May 1, causing part of one building to collapse. Firefighters cordoned off the area around the blaze in Largo do Paissandu. One of the buildings was a former federal police facility that has since been inhabited intermittently, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. Locals told the newspaper they had seen people standing on top of the burning building. Globo.com reported at least one person died as firefighters launched a rescue attempt. Sao Paulo Estadao reported at least two people were missing after the fire. This video, captured by the São Paulo Ambulance service, shows ambulance crews working at the scene. Credit: São Paulo Ambulance Service via Storyful

A TOWER block in Brazil has collapsed after catching fire as terrified residents were seen on the roof screaming for help.

Firefighters continue to search for survivors through the burning rubble in the city of Sao Paulo although authorities have reportedly said that at least one person has died while three are missing.

The 26-storey building was reportedly occupied by homeless people many of whom are believed to be trapped in the mangled wreckage.

Local media reports that 50 families were registered to the live in the collapsed tower.

According to Globo, the fire started on the fifth floor at 1.30am local time and spread rapidly reaching a neighbouring building.

However, authorities have confirmed there is no risk of collapse with the second structure.

Around 160 firefighters and 57 emergency vehicles have attended the scene, in the Largo do Paissandu area, which has been cordoned off.

The tower which collapsed was a former federal police facility, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

Witnesses told the news outlet they had seen people standing on top of the burning building shouting for help.

Flabio Gabia, a hotel receptionist who works nearby, told Estadao: “When I went to see what it was, the streets were filled with desperate people.

Victor Hinckel, a resident in one of the buildings in the area, spoke to Globo about the moment he was evacuated.

He said: “I had come home, I was getting ready to take a shower, and the neighbour came and told us to go downstairs, and when we got downstairs, half of my building was already on the street, people were jumping, very sad.

“It was to end as soon as the firemen arrived.”

This story appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission.</s>SAO PAULO
• Forty-four people were still missing yesterday, after a 24-storey building used by squatters in central Sao Paulo caught fire and collapsed, the Brazilian city's fire department said.

In the immediate aftermath of Tuesday's disaster, one man was only seconds from being rescued before the building suddenly crashed down.

"The fire department is continuing to search, with 31 vehicles, 78 firefighters," it tweeted. "44 missing."

YEREVAN
• Tens of thousands of Armenians converged on the capital yesterday, blocking key transport links and government buildings, as popular anger exploded over the ruling party's rejection of opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan's bid to become prime minister.

In an unprecedented show of defiance, protesters including the elderly, pupils and even housewives paralysed Yerevan, with streets closed to traffic, and the subway and numerous stores shut.

The poor, Moscow-allied nation was plunged into its most serious political crisis in years last month when mass demonstrations led by Mr Pashinyan forced the resignation of longtime leader Serzh Sarkisian.

LONDON
• As many as 270 women's lives may have been shortened after an IT failure in England's breast cancer screening programme meant 450,000 patients were not invited for appointments, Britain's Health Minister said yesterday.

Mr Jeremy Hunt apologised in Parliament for the "serious failure", which he said was the result of a mistake in a computer system's algorithm, and ordered an independent review.

"Our current best estimate, which comes with caveats... is that there may be between 135 and 270 women who had their lives shortened as a result," he said.

The IT error took place in 2009 but only came to light this January, Mr Hunt said.</s>A rescue mission is under way to find survivors after a tower block in Brazil collapsed during a huge fire.

One person has been confirmed dead and several more are feared dead or trapped after screams for help were heard from the top floor of the building in Sao Paulo.

The tower block was occupied by rough sleepers and a number of people are thought to be trapped in the rubble, authorities said.

Firefighters were alerted at 1.30am local time (5.30am in Ireland).

More than 170 firefighters are at the scene, along with a civil defence response team and the army.

It is not clear how many people were in the building at the time but 50 families are registered as living in the block, according to local media.

Firefighter Andre Elias told Globo TV that they expected to find more victims but did not know how many.

Local workers said the former Federal Police building was 26 storeys tall and occupied by groups of homeless people.

Flabio Gabia, a receptionist at a nearby hotel, said: "When I went to see what it was, the streets were filled with desperate people.

The blaze is understood to have started on the third floor and then spread rapidly to the levels above.

A neighbouring building was evacuated as the flames spread and the area has been sealed off by police.

Frederick Ludwig, a pastor at a nearby church, said he had been warning authorities for years about the appalling conditions for people living in inside the building.

He told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper: "There was sewage in the open air in there as well as outbreaks of dengue mosquito."

The cause of the fire is not yet known.</s>Forty nine people were listed as still missing Wednesday after a 24-storey building occupied by squatters in central Sao Paulo was engulfed in fire and collapsed, the Brazilian city’s fire department said.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster on Tuesday only three were declared unaccounted for, including one man who was seconds from being successfully rescued by firefighters before the building suddenly crashed down.

“The fire department is continuing to search, currently with 27 vehicles, 80 firefighters,” the department tweeted. “49 missing.”

Officials gave no indication whether the large number of missing were considered likely to have been killed and buried under the rubble, or whether they simply were not there at the time.

The building, a disused former police headquarters, was occupied by 146 homeless families, officials say, blaming a lack of even basic fire prevention measures for the speed and ferocity of the blaze. Officials have not said how they think it actually started.

For now rescue teams using search dogs were working slowly in the still hot wreckage, hoping to find someone alive.

“Firefighters are cooling down the rubble in places with the highest temperature, which are monitored with thermal cameras, as well as manually removing rubble. In the first 48 hours this removal must be manual. We don’t use heavy machinery,” spokesman Guilherme Derrite told AFP.

Sao Paulo is Brazil’s financial capital and the most populous city in Latin America, but suffers huge economic inequality. Poor families often squat in disused buildings or set up tents and shacks on vacant land, sometimes next to wealthy areas.

Center-right President Michel Temer, who is Brazil’s most unpopular leader on record, with single-digit approval ratings, got a hostile reception when he briefly visited the scene.

A representative for the former residents, Cristiano Lima, said the squatters were not street dwellers but had been attempting to set up homes.

“We went to a place like this as an alternative, to have a dignified home, a space to call our own,” Cristiano Lima said.</s>Number of missing people after fire in Sao Paulo may reach 45

The number of people, who went missing as a result of a fire that broke out in a 24-storey tower block in Brazil’s Sao Paulo, may reach 45, Sputnik reported citing media.

A massive fire engulfed two tower blocks in Sao Paolo on Tuesday causing one of the buildings to collapse. Earlier reports suggested that one person died and 150 people were evacuated as a result of the fire, while at least three people were said to be missing.

According to the Globo broadcaster, the location of these missing people has not been determined yet, but this does not mean that they are all under the rubble.</s>Brazilian firefighters on Wednesday continued the search for survivors after a burning building collapsed in downtown Sao Paulo earlier this week, killing at least one person, officials said.

According to the fire department, at least 44 people were still missing following the blaze early Tuesday, although authorities have not been able to confirm whether they were inside the building during the collapse or if they were not there at the time.

The fire department has been clearing the rubble manually with 78 firefighters and 31 vehicles, since the use of machinery is only allowed after 48 hours.

The Wilton Paes de Almeida Building was a 24-storey high rise built in the 1960s that housed the headquarters of the Federal Police in Sao Paulo for close to two decades, although during the last few years it was occupied by squatters, including at least 50 homeless families.

The only known victim is a man, identified simply as Ricardo, who was close to being rescued by firefighters before the building crashed down, as was shown in shocking television footage.

Sergeant Diego Pereira da Silva Santos, who was attempting to rescue Ricardo from an adjacent building, said that "only 30 or 40 more seconds" were needed to save him.

The attorney general's office of Sao Paulo said that an investigation filed in March regarding the building's structural safety would be reopened.

In addition, the Mayor's office said that the civil defense would inspect the structural safety of 70 buildings in Sao Paulo that are being squatted by close to 4,000 low-income families.
Firefighters say 44 people are missing after the collapse of the Edifício Wilton Paes de Almeida tower block in São Paulo, Brazil, yesterday. One missing man was within seconds of rescue when the building came down during a fire.