A 26 - storey building has collapsed after being engulfed in flames in Brazil's largest city, São Paulo, killing at least one person.
More than 150 firefighters are battling the blaze which is thought to have been caused by a gas explosion.
The high - rise had been occupied by squatters. Fire authorities said they feared more people were trapped inside.
Witnesses said flames spread quickly from one of the lower floors and set an adjacent building on fire.
'Like a tsunami'
Some 50 families had moved into the building in the Largo do Paissandu area of the city after the federal police force, which had been using it, vacated it some years ago.
The São Paulo newspaper Estadão reported that makeshift living compartments in the building had been constructed from wood, aiding the spread of the blaze through the floors.
Firefighters evacuated the high - rise but as they were taking out the last of the residents the building collapsed, killing one man. One firefighter was injured, Estadão reported.
"It was a matter of seconds but we couldn't save him, " firefighter Max Mena said.
"It felt like a tsunami when the building came down, " a 58 - year - old woman who lived on the fourth floor told Folha newspaper. "I could not take anything with me. "
Source: BBC
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