Church Roof Collapses, Killing at Least 30
A roof collapsed over a packed congregation early Saturday at a church, killing at least 30 people and injuring 538, firefighters said.
About 1,300 people were at the church nine miles southwest of Sao Paulo when the roof collapsed, firefighter Fabio Leite said. Firefighters were not certain why the roof fell, but they said the building was more than 40 years old.
The roof was supported by beams that may have rotted, said Lourdes Faccinalli, a town spokeswoman. It had been raining for several hours before the incident.
“We were praying and had our eyes closed. When we opened them, the building was falling,” Maria Aparecida Costa, an injured worshiper, told a television station.
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