The death toll from the floods and landslides that devastated the Brazilian city of Petropolis after torrential rains now stands at 165, according to the latest official toll.
Last Tuesday torrential rains turned the streets of this tourist town into torrents of mud and caused landslides.
Petropolis, the former summer residence of the imperial court of Brazil in the 19th century, received more rain in a few hours than the average for a whole month of February.
Since then, orange-clad rescuers and residents searching for their missing relatives have continued to dig through piles of mud and debris in this southeastern city of 300,000 that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has described as “ a theater of war.
The number of missing has fallen as more bodies have been identified and families have found loved ones alive, police say, but the final toll, which continues to climb, remains uncertain.
However, according to the authorities, it is now unlikely that survivors will be extracted from the rubble.
So far, 124 bodies have been identified, including those of 28 children, and more than 1,200 people have been forced to evacuate their homes.
On Sunday, Pope Francis sent his condolences after his Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
"I express my closeness to those affected in recent days by natural disasters," he said, citing "devastated" Petropolis and Madagascar, recently hit by deadly cyclones.
For three months, Brazil has been affected by numerous storms.
More than 200 people perished in torrential rains, mainly in the states of Sao Paulo (southeast) and Bahia (northeast), as well as in Petropolis.
Recently, a person died crushed by the collapse of a wall in the city of Alegre and another was washed away while trying to recover a car in the city of Nova Venecia.