FUNCHAL, Portugal, (Reuters) – Portuguese rescuers  used excavators and their bare hands yesterday to sift through  mud and debris for victims of violent floods and mudslides that  killed at least 42 people on the resort island of Madeira.

Officials said they feared more bodies had been washed away  into the ocean after Saturday’s deluge, and flew in divers from  the mainland to search for those drowned. In the mountains  above, the death toll was also expected to rise.

Miguel Albuquerque, the mayor of Madeira’s capital Funchal,  said some areas above the city were particularly badly hit,  likening the scene to Dante’s Inferno:

“What happened in the higher parts of Funchal was  dantesque,” he said in televised remarks. “We are digging out  houses that were buried. Unfortunately, I have no doubts that  the number of dead will rise,” he added.

Saturday’s heavy rainstorm unleashed floods and mudslides on  the Atlantic island, sweeping away cars and bridges and burying  some houses under tonnes of mud.

Francisco Ramos, the regional secretary for social affairs,  said there were 42 confirmed deaths on Madeira, which lies some  1,000 km (625 miles) southwest of Lisbon. He said the number was  likely to rise “given the circumstances of this deluge”.

It is the worst loss of life in Portugal since 2001, when a  bridge over the Douro River collapsed, killing 59 people.

Many roads in Madeira were partially destroyed or blocked  with rocks, trees and mud. It took civil protection services  more than 24 hours to reach the village of Curral das Freiras,  which had been cut off. RTP television quoted local officials as  saying one person had been killed and one was missing there.

Ramos gave no estimate of the number of people missing,  saying many people initially unaccounted for were returning home  from temporary shelters yesterday after being unable to get in  touch with their families when mobile phone networks failed.

Officials said about 120 people were injured and 300 spent  the night in temporary shelters. At least 240 lost their homes.

A military transport plane with rescue teams arrived in  Funchal yesterday and a navy frigate was heading for the island  to help with the search effort and reconstruction.

Alberto Joao Jardim, the leader of the regional government,  said there had been “no serious incident” involving the tourism  sector on the island.

Many of the tourists on Madeira, which held its popular  annual Carnival parades last week, were Britons visiting for the  half-term school holiday.