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Landslide leaves at least 15 dead in Rio de Janeiro suburb

At least 15 people have been killed in a landslide Saturday caused by heavy rains in southeast Brazil's Niteroi municipality, part of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area, according to local authorities. Heavy rains that have pummeled the region for the past three days led to a huge rock dislodging, leaving at least six homes destroyed early Saturday, Brazil's civil defense authorities said. Fifteen people, including two children, were found dead in the rubble and another 11 were rescued. Firefighters and civil defense personnel are still searching for survivors. A three-year-old boy who was celebrating his birthday with his family, and his younger sister, were among the dead. Landslides and floods are prone to happen in Brazil, especially in the mountainous southeast Brazil where Rio de Janeiro is located. In 2010, a landslide killed 48 in Niteroi.