Dozens dead, more feared buried in dam collapse
BRUMADINHO, Brazil — The death toll from the collapse of a dam holding back mine waste in southeastern Brazil rose to 40 on Saturday as searchers flying in helicopters and rescuers labouring in deep mud uncovered more bodies. An estimated 300 people were still missing and authorities expected the death toll to increase during a search made more challenging by intermittent rains.
Scores of families in the city desperately awaited word on their loved ones, and Romeu Zema, governor of Minas Gerais state, promised that those responsible “would be punished.”
Employees of the mining complex owned and operated by Brazilian mining company Vale were eating lunch Friday afternoon when the dam gave way, unleashing a sea of reddish-brown mud that knocked over and buried several structures of the company and surrounding areas.
The flow of waste reached the nearby community of Vila Ferteco and an occupied Vale administrative office. On Saturday, rooftops poked above an extensive field of mud, which also cut off roads. After the dam collapse, some were evacuated from Brumadinho. Other residents of the affected areas barely escaped with their lives.
“I saw all the mud coming down the hill, snapping the trees as it descended. It was a tremendous noise,” said a tearful Simone Pedrosa, from the neighbourhood of Parque Cachoeira, about eight kilometres from where the dam collapsed.
Pedrosa, 45, and her parents dashed to their car and drove to the highest point in the neighbourhood. “If we had gone down the other direction, we would have died,” Pedrosa said.
The company said Saturday that more than 200 workers were still missing, while fire officials estimated the total number at close to 300. Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman said he did not know what caused the collapse. About 300 employees were working when it happened. Emergency workers planned to continue searching at first light today.
The rivers of mining waste raised fears of widespread contamination. According to Vale’s website, the waste, often called tailings, is composed mostly of sand and is non-toxic. However, a UN report found the waste from a similar disaster in 2015 “contained high levels of toxic heavy metals.”
Brazil’s attorney general, Raquel Dodge promised to investigate. Dodge noted there are 600 mines in the state of Minas Gerais alone that are classified as being at risk of rupture.
Another dam administered by Vale and Australian mining company BHP Billiton collapsed in 2015 in the city of Mariana in Minas Gerais state, resulting in 19 deaths and forcing hundreds from their homes. Considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, it left 250,000 people without drinking water and killed thousands of fish. An estimated 60 million cubic metres of waste flooded rivers, eventually flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.
Daily Folha de S.Paulo reported Saturday that the dam’s mining complex was issued an expedited license to expand in December due to “decreased risk.” Preservation groups alleged that the approval was unlawful.
President Jair Bolsonaro campaigned on promises to jump-start Brazil’s economy, in part by deregulating mining and other industries.