Almost 200 are homeless after fire in Brazilian favela

GlobalPost

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — A fire in a favela in Guarujá, a city along the southern coast of São Paulo state, left almost 200 homeless when 50 wooden shacks burned to the ground on Monday, reported Brazilian magazine Veja.

Residents and workers in the area tried to stop the spread of the fire, according to Brazilian news site G1, but it still took firefighters one hour to control it once they arrived shortly thereafter.

More from GlobalPost: Rio slum-clearing plan brings new concerns for Brazil

Veja also reported that some residents were taken to ERs in the area because of shock, but no one was injured.

According to Brazil's Jornal A Tribuna, the fire might have been caused by carelessness in the kitchen. Residents told the newspaper that a teenager was preparing instant noodles when fire accidentally caught the walls of her home.

G1 reported that the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.