Dam Burst Submerges Village In Brazil

At least 15 people were reported potentially killed and many more missing as the breach of a wall at the venture unleashed a torrent of muddy water onto the mining town of Mariana in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.

A separate dam in northeastern Brazil burst in 2009, killing at least 24 people.

Nineteen people have been confirmed as missing, the local fire department said – six residents of nearby villages, along with 13 workers from the mine.

A state public prosecutor based in Mariana said on Saturday he will seek 500,000 Brazilian reais ($130,000) in personal damages for each of about 200 families most affected by the dam burst. “We are in the process of obtaining more details from Samarco Mineração S.A”, the miner said, adding that it would provide further information as soon as “we are in a position to do so”.

BHP’s CEO Andrew Mackenzie told reporters in Melbourne that a full investigation would be required to establish the cause of the incident in Brazil, and the company would fully cooperate with local authorities.

The village of Bento Rodrigues near the dam is practically buried in mud, the fire chief said.

Samarco said in a statement it had not yet determined why the dam burst or the extent of the disaster. Video footage shows homes and buildings ripped apart and submerged in mud, trees leveled, and a truck dangling upside down from a cliff-side.

The flood and its toll on the local community threatens to be major financial and reputational challenge for BHP and Vale, which jointly own the iron-ore mine operated by Samarco Mineração SA.

Another survivor, Joaquim Dutra, said: “When I went outside there were already people running uphill, saying the dam burst”.

“We really need to be able to look a bit more carefully when we have daylight”, he said.

“I climbed out the window, climbed onto the roof and jumped from one roof to another” to take refuge on higher ground, he said. “We can not get closer because of the mud”, he told AFP by phone Thursday.

Shares of Vale were off 5.5 percent in Sao Paulo trading and BHP Billiton dropped 5.7 percent in London.

The mine produces 30 million mt of iron ore pellets per year and is located in the cities of Mariana and Ouro Preto, both in the state of Minas Gerais.

The cause of the burst is not yet known, said a spokesman for the Samarco mining company, owners of the dam.

Samarco denied that the mudslide residues were toxic and described them as residues “mostly” composed of silicon, a mineral used in processing iron, and which “contain no chemical element injurious to health”. There, it’s turned into pellets and then shipped to customers.