40 dead, many feared buried in mud after Brazil dam collapse
Brumadinho (Brazil), Jan 27 : 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 level of devastation quickly led President Jair Bolsonaro and other officials to describe it as a "tragedy".
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 the 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 8 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, adding that she had a feeling "that this was the end of my life".
"I cannot get that noise out of my head," she said. "It's a trauma ... I'll never forget."
In addition to the 40 bodies recovered as of Saturday afternoon, 23 people were hospitalised, said authorities with the Minas Gerais fire department. There had been some signs of hope earlier Saturday when authorities found 43 more people alive. Company officials also had said that 100 workers were accounted for.
But the company said in a statement Saturday afternoon that more than 200 workers were still missing, while fire officials at one point 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 suspended their search shortly after nightfall. They planned to resume at first light Sunday morning.
For many, hope was fading to anguish. "I don't think he is alive," said Joao Bosco, speaking of his cousin, Jorge Luis Ferreira, who worked for Vale.
"Right now I can only hope for a miracle of God." Vanilza Sueli Oliveira described the wait for news of her nephew as "distressing, maddening." "Time is passing," she said. "It's been 24 hours already. ... I just don't want to think that he is under the mud."
The rivers of mining waste also 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 that the waste from a similar disaster in 2015 "contained high levels of toxic heavy metals".
On Friday, Minas Gerais state court blocked USD 260 million from Vale for state emergency services and told the company to present a report about how they would help victims. On Saturday, the state's justice ministry ordered an additional USD 1.3 billion blocked.
Brazil's Attorney General, Raquel Dodge, promised to investigate, saying "someone is definitely at fault". 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 and eventually flowed into the Atlantic Ocean.
Schvartsman said what happened Friday was "a human tragedy much larger than the tragedy of Mariana, but probably the environmental damage will be less".
Sueli de Oliveira Costa, who hadn't heard from her husband since Friday, had harsh words for the mining company. "Vale destroyed Mariana and now they've destroyed Brumadinho," she said.
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 in the area alleged that the approval was unlawful.
On Twitter, President Bolsonaro said his government would do everything it could to "prevent more tragedies" like Mariana and now Brumadinho. The far-right leader campaigned on promises to jump-start Brazil's economy, in part by deregulating mining and other industries.
Environmental groups and activists said the latest spill underscored a lack of regulation, and many promised to fight any further deregulation by Bolsonaro in Latin America's largest nation.
"History repeats itself," tweeted Marina Silva, a former environmental minister and three-time presidential candidate. "It's unacceptable that government and mining companies haven't learned anything."
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One dead in landslide, 235 rescued amid heavy snowfall in J-K’s Kishtwar
Jammu (PTI): One person was killed and another injured in a landslide near a hydro-power project, while over 230 people, including women and children, were evacuated after they were caught in heavy snowfall at the high-altitude Sinthan top in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, officials said on Monday.
In view of the inclement weather, the authorities have ordered the closure of all educational institutions outside the municipal limits in Kishtwar and adjoining Doda district for Monday as a precautionary measure, the officials said.
A landslide, triggered by rain, struck a hydro-power project site near Dangduru in Kishtwar district on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday, trapping two workers, the officials said.
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While one worker was later found dead, the other was rescued in an injured condition and shifted to a hospital, they said.
In another incident, the officials said, a joint rescue operation by the police, Army and the civil administration successfully evacuated 38 vehicles carrying 235 passengers to safety amid heavy snowfall at the Sinthan Top connecting Kishtwar in Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
“On March 15, information was received that 235 civilians were stranded at Sinthan top due to heavy snowfall and severe weather conditions. Troops of the White Knight Corps were immediately mobilised to launch a swift rescue operation despite the treacherous terrain and relentless snowfall.
“Braving extreme weather and snow-blocked roads, the rescue teams reached Sinthan top and provided the stranded civilians with hot meals, drinking water and shelter. Repair and recovery teams restored the mobility of the stranded vehicles, while passengers from the unrecoverable vehicles were safely evacuated.
“Medical teams rendered assistance and essential medicines to those in need,” the White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
“The mission witnessed seamless coordination between the Army, J-K Police and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, reaffirming the Army’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding lives in the harshest conditions,” the post added.
Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma, along with SSP Naresh Singh and the commanding officer of the 11 Rashtriya Rifles, supervised the rescue operation, which continued for several hours, the officials said.
