Fires sweeps through shantytown on outskirts of Sao Paulo
SAO PAULO – A fire swept through a slum on the outskirts of Brazil’s biggest city Tuesday, and authorities said hundreds of people had to flee as flames consumed wooden homes.
The fire was brought under control three hours after it began, Lt. Col. Roberto Lago of the Sao Paulo Fire Department told reporters.
He said the fire destroyed most of the shantytown in Osasco, a suburb on the edge of Sao Paulo. There had been no reports of injuries or deaths, he said.
Images aired by the Globo TV showed large black clouds of smoke hovering over the slum. The network also showed residents desperately trying to save personal belongings like mattresses, stoves, computers and refrigerators before the flames reached their homes.
The newspaper Correio Paulista in Osasco said the shantytown is home to about 1,000 people living in 120 shacks.
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