Roof of Universal Church of the Kingdom of God temple in Osasco, Brazil, collapses, killing at least 28

A partial collapse of the wooden roof of a Universal Church of the Kingdom of God temple in Osasco, in the State of São Paulo, killed at least 28 people and injured more than 500, according to reports. More than 1,300 people were attending a prayer vigil in the building when the roof fell, shortly after 2 a.m. local time.

The building was an old cinema that the church had rented for six years for its worship services. Firefighters pulled some bodies from the rubble, and others died on the way to hospital. Of the injured, many of them women and children, about 500 were taken to five hospitals in Osasco and two in São Paulo. Some 300 remained in various conditions of severity the night of the collapse.

The causes have not yet been established. The building’s age and the poor condition of its wooden roof structure appear to be probable factors, but the source does not confirm this. The rear section of the building was in ruins, and the site was sealed on Saturday morning after rescue and recovery work.

Bishop Edir Macedo, leader of the church, which the source says has about five million members, publicly expressed deep regret over the accident in an appearance on Record, a television network owned by the church. Macedo denied reports that the church’s doors had been closed during the disaster and denied that the building was in poor condition. Those denials are his own position as reported; the source does not say whether they have been independently verified. Protecting people in a crowded building is the kind of care the church’s critics and the injured families would expect to be tested in any inquiry (Psalm 82:3).

The church also announced its intention to support President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in the elections scheduled for October 4.

The source describes the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God as neo-Pentecostal and says it has been growing steadily, mainly at the expense of Catholic members. It also reports that the church loses about a million members a year to other evangelical churches.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)