At least 14 people have been killed following the collapse of a residential building in northeastern Brazil. This figure comes as authorities have found the lifeless bodies of the last missing people.

The collapse occurred last Friday in the Janga neighbourhood, on the outskirts of Recife, capital of the Pernambuco state.

The building reportedly collapsed during heavy rains that battered the region while residents were still asleep.

The dead include men, women and children. The deceased children were aged five, eight, 12 and 16, said CNN Brazil citing the state’s Secretariat of Social Defense (SDS.)

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Men, women and childen dead in collapse

On the day of the collapse, officials already reported eight deaths. The Pernambuco civil defense services say a 65-year-old woman and two adolescents emerged from the rubble, alive. On the morning after the collapse, the body of a 19-year-old was reportedly pulled from the rubble.

Pernambuco’s Governor Raquel Lyra expressed her condolences on social media, assuring that her office would spare no effort in helping families in need. The four-storey building, which had been attached to a larger housing complex, had been closed in 2010 due to the risk of collapse. However, it has been illegally occupied since then report authorities.

Building collapses in Brazil generally occurs in poorer neighbourhoods, where illegal construction is rampant. Back in April, a building in similar condition collapsed in the city of Olinda (also in Pernumbuco), leaving at least six people dead.

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Three years ago, two irregularly constructed buildings in Rio de Janeiro gave way after the region was battered by intense rainfall. At least twenty-four people died.

Recife is a coastal city home to around 1.5 million residents. The region has been trying to cope with heavy rainfall in recent days.