A fourth victim was found on Thursday (January 26) underneath the rubble of three buildings that collapsed in Rio de Janeiro.
Seventeen people remain missing.
Witnesses said they heard structures cracking and saw plaster falling before the buildings collapsed -- sending people into a panic.
Streets were covered with dust and debris after the collapse.
The buildings were mostly office spaces, and were almost empty at the time of the disaster.
Relatives of people who were inside the building offered each other support.
One man was looking for his wife...
(SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) MAN WHOSE WIFE WAS WORKING INSIDE COLLAPSED BUILDING, VITOR, SAYING:
"She hadn't left (the building); she didn't say goodbye or anything. Everything happened so quickly. I am desperate and I need to know if she is still there."
Several were waiting for news, holding out hope that their missing loved ones would be found.
Roberto Flaviano's wife is also missing...
SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) ELDERLY MAN, ROBERTO FLAVIANO, WHOSE WIFE WENT MISSING AFTER COLLAPSE, SAYING:
"I'm hoping that she is trapped somewhere. I don't know, I don't know."
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff sent her sympathies for the victims.
(SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL'S PRESIDENT DILMA ROUSSEFF, SAYING:
"I sent them (Rio's officials) my deepest sympathy and my hopes that the people may survive and that they may be found alive after this effort that they are carrying out to rescue those who have been buried."
The tragedy casts a pall on the reliability of Rio's infrastructure, at a crucial moment when it tries to clean up its image for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics two years later.
Michaela Cabrera, Reuters.
