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A dam that held back mining waste has collapsed in Brazil, inundating a nearby community in reddish-brown sludge, killing at least seven people and leaving hundreds of others missing.
Key points:
- Seven people have been reported dead and about 200 are still missing
- Mining company Vale SA says it is too soon to know why the dam collapsed
- Another Brazilian dam owned by Vale and BHP Billiton collapsed in 2015, the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history
Brazilian mining company Vale SA said in a statement that the flow reached the community of Vila Ferteco and an administrative office, where employees were present, which “indicated the possibility of victims”.
The company said it did not have further information on deaths or injuries at the dam, located in the town of Brumadinho. Parts of the city were evacuated and local firefighters were rescuing people by helicopter and ground vehicles.
Vale chief executive Fabio Schvartsman said only one-third of the roughly 300 workers at the site of the disaster had been accounted for and rescuers were searching or some 200 missing people.
Seven bodies had been recovered by late Friday, according to a statement from the Governor’s office of Minas Gerais state.
Local television channel TV Record showed a firefighters’ helicopter hovering inches off the ground as it pulled people covered in mud out of the sludge.
Photos showed the rooftops of structures poking above an extensive field of the mud, which also cut off roads.
President Jair Bolsonaro sent a tweet saying he lamented the incident and was sending the three Cabinet Ministers to the area.
Mr Schvartsman said the dam had a capacity of 2 million cubic meters and was being decommissioned. He said equipment had shown the dam was stable on January 10 and it was too soon to say why it collapsed.
Another dam administered by Vale and Australian mining company BHP Billiton collapsed in Mariana, Minas Gerais, in 2015, resulting in 19 deaths and forcing hundreds of people out of their homes.
That was considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, with 60 million cubic meters of waste flooding rivers and eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean.
The rivers of mining waste are raising fears of widespread contamination.
According to Vale’s website, tailings are mostly made up of sand and are non-toxic. However, a UN report found that the waste from the 2015 disaster “contained high levels of toxic heavy metals”.
The 2015 collapse left 250,000 people without drinking water and killed thousands of fish.
Vale is Brazil’s largest mining company. Two hours after the accident, its stocks fell 10 per cent on the New York stock exchange.
AP/Reuters
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