RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, March 6, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - At least eight people died on Thursday when a nursing home collapsed in the southern Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, as firefighters searched through the rubble for four missing people.

Twenty-nine people were in the four-story building, which also housed apartments and a cosmetic clinic, at the time of the early morning collapse, according to the Minas Gerais state fire department.

Firefighters said they, with the help of rescue dogs, were searching for four missing victims believed to be buried under the rubble, a mound of broken walls, iron beams and dirt.

The emergency responders managed to rescue eight people alive, including a two-year-old boy, while nine others escaped on their own or with the help of neighbors.

The cause of the collapse was under investigation. Fire department spokesman Henrique Barcellos told reporters at the scene that the building had all the necessary permits.