[custom_adv] On November 5, two dams retaining tons of iron-mining waste near the Brazilian town of Bento Rodrigues burst, releasing a massive flood of thick, red toxic mud that flattened buildings and trees, smothered the small town, killed at least four, and left another 28 still missing. [custom_adv] The dams are operated by the mining company Samarco, which is jointly owned by two larger mining companies: Vale, from Brazil and BHP Billiton, from Australia. Rescue workers are still searching for survivors as both Samarco and Brazilian authorities have issued statements saying the cause and full extent of the disaster remain undetermined. [custom_adv] A mining dam collapsed in southeastern Brazil on Friday, Jan. 25. Since the accident, the Associated Press confirmed that an estimated 300 people are missing. The dam break also flooded a nearby community, raising concerns of widespread contamination. [custom_adv] Brazilian mining company Vale SA originally said in a statement that it didn't yet have information on deaths or injuries at the dam in Minas Gerais state but said that tailings have reached the community of Vila Ferteco and an administrative office. Parts of the city were evacuated and local firefighters were rescuing people by helicopter and ground vehicles, the Associated Press (AP) reports. [custom_adv] A structure lays in ruins after a dam collapsed near Brumadinho, Brazil, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019. Brazilian mining company Vale SA said it didn’t yet have information on deaths or injuries at the dam but said that tailings have reached the community of Vila Ferteco. (Leo Drumond/Nitro via AP) [custom_adv] "We inform you that the disruption of a dam occurred in Brumadinho. We've already triggered the fire department and activated the Emergency Service plan for dams. Our highest priority is to preserve and protect the life of the community," Vale said in a tweet. [custom_adv] The death toll from the dam's collapse rose to 40 on Saturday.Officials suspended rescue and recovery operations on Sunday morning due to fears of another dam failing, according to the AP.Local television channel TV Record showed a firefighter's helicopter hovering inches off the ground as it hoisted a woman covered in mud out of the sludge. [custom_adv] An aerial view shows flooding triggered by a collapsed dam near Brumadinho, Brazil, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019. (Bruno Correia/Nitro via AP)Vale is Brazil's largest mining company. Vale stocks fell 10 percent on the New York Stock Exchange about two hours after the accident, according to AP News. [custom_adv] The recent tragedy mirrors the 2015 dam collapse in Mariana, Minas Gerais. The dam was administered by Vale and Australian mining company BHP Billiton. [custom_adv] The collapse resulted in 19 deaths, dislocated hundreds from their homes and contaminated a nearby river. It is largely considered Brazil’s largest-ever environmental catastrophe. [custom_adv] The evacuation efforts diverted attention from the search for hundreds of people missing after Friday's burst dam unleashed a torrent of mud, burying the mining facilities and nearby homes."Our work is completely focused on the evacuation," Aihara said. [custom_adv] Roughly 250 people were still missing after the tailings dam accident, according to a list released by Vale, the second such disaster in less than four years. Most of the missing are presumed dead, officials said. [custom_adv] The confirmed death toll rose to 37 by Sunday morning, according to the fire department.Helicopters surveyed the area during searches for missing individuals. [custom_adv] The disaster is now more deadly than a 2015 tailings dam collapse at an iron ore mine less than 100 km (60 miles) to the east, belonging to Samarco Mineracao SA, a Vale joint venture with BHP Group. [custom_adv] The Samarco dam break spilled five times the mining waste into a more remote region, killing 19 people, burying a small village and contaminating a major river in Brazil's worst environmental disaster on record. [custom_adv] In Brumadinho, families and friends mourning their lost loved ones were forced to evacuate on Sunday.Residents are seen on a road blocked after a dam, owned by Brazilian miner Vale SA, burst in Brumadinho, Brazil January 26, 2019. [custom_adv] Renato Maia, a 44-year-old salesman whose best friend's daughter remained missing, fled his home in panic early Sunday morning. At midday he and his wife waited on the outskirts of town for police to lift a blockade, angry at the situation. [custom_adv] "We're all fed up with Vale ... and this is really adding to the tension," he said. "It was a huge tragedy and now we don't know what might come next."The Brazilian government has ordered Vale to halt operations at the Corrego do Feijao mining complex, the site of the Friday dam burst. Courts have frozen 6 billion reais ($1.6 billion) in Vale's asses to pay for the damage.
