Chilling footage shows the moment when a still-missing girl fell down a gutter as she walked home from school.
Amanda Max Teles da Silva was seen stumbling and vanishing into the ground a second later on Wednesday (27 Nov).
As of Thursday (28 Nov), firefighters were still scouring the underground drainage network in a desperate bid to find her.
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The avenue was submerged when Amanda, who was holding a yellow umbrella, fell down the gap near the central reservation.
Some 80 firefighters, along with volunteers and sniffer dogs, are currently involved in the search for the 12-year-old.
Her rucksack was found on Thursday in a wooded area about 2 km (1.2 mi) from where she fell.
The drainage network in Dias D’Ávila, Brazil, spans about 700 m (0.4 mi) before discharging into the Imbassaí River.
The search is proving challenging because the underground channels and pipes are narrow and poorly ventilated.
Search teams are also combing through muddy terrain that saw run-off from Wednesday’s heavy rains.
Fire chief Flávio Rodrigo told local media: “Our teams are conducting a thorough search to ensure no location is left unchecked.
“Some areas require cutting through trees to access potential sites where she might be found.”
Sanitation experts say the gutter Amanda fell down should have been covered with a grate, given its proximity to her school.
The local authorities have since promised to seal it, as reported by NeedToKnow.
A second person missing after Wednesday’s heavy rains has been named as 18-year-old Paulo Andrade.
He was at home in nearby Salvador with his mum and his six-year-old brother when their house collapsed in a landslide.
Efforts to locate him are underway.
In a separate incident in the city, 23-year-old dad-of-two Gerson Alexandrino Santos Júnior was killed by a landslide as he lay in bed.
Salvador mayor Bruno Reis told local media: “Salvador’s irregular topography poses many challenges.
“We’ve identified 45 priority slope-stabilisation projects, which we aim to address through targeted engineering solutions.”
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