At least 33 people have died after mudslides triggered by torrential rains devastated homes and villages in south-east Brazil.

Most of those who died were children, trapped inside flimsy huts that were simply swept away and buried under tons of wet earth.

Rescuers say there is little hope of finding more survivors

The downpour swept through two states on Thursday, injuring dozens of people and leaving more than 7,000 unable to return to their homes, the authorities said.

Most of the deaths occurred in Minas Gerais state and in neighbouring Espirito Santo, according to civil defence officials.

Nearly 3,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, and scores of others are at risk of collapsing.

States of emergency have been declared in more than 30 municipalities and the Brazilian Government has given 20 million reals ($6m) in financial aid.

Forecasters say the rains will continue until Sunday.

Family wiped out

The worst damage was in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil's fourth-largest metropolitan area, where at least 15 people were killed.

In Morro das Pedras, a hillside slum near Belo Horizonte's fashionable southern district, nine members of the same family were trapped when their house was completely buried.

A spokesman for the city's fire department, Lieutenant Gertel Vaz de Souza said the chances of finding any more survivors was remote.

He said rescuers had made contact with one boy still under the rubble, but a second mudslide buried him again.

"It was horrible," Mr de Souza said. "One minute they were talking to him, and the next he was gone."

Brazil's Vice-President Jose Alencar travelled to Minas Gerais on Thursday to assess the damage.

Shanty towns

The BBC's Jan Rocha, in Sao Paolo, says the floods have carried away bridges and buildings but the worst damage has been in shanty towns that cling to steep hillsides where the poorest people live.

Flash flooding is common in Brazil, but the south-east region has suffered unusually heavy rains in the past few months.

Last Saturday, rain-caused mudslides killed 17 people in the resort city of Petropolis, near Rio de Janeiro.

More than 50 people also died in December after particularly heavy rainfall.